Lacklusture Brentford looked to be suffering from an Xmas and New Year hangover which still leaves them in a good position but bad results against, Nottingham Forest on Tuesday and Huddersfield next Saturday could mean that the FA Cup is the only chance for Bees success this season.
What the manager said?
Martin Allen was typically resilliant speaking to the press,
"We didn't really turn up in the first half, before we knew it we were goals behind and had left ourselves with too much to do. We were outfought, outrun and outjumped by a side full of confidense. We simply didn't play the Brentford way and that is disapointing."
"We were in no doubt that it was going to be a tough game but it shows exactly what type of team we have to be if we want to stay near the summit."
"Realistically, there is no point sulking, no point feeling sorry for yourself. You must learn from it and tomorrow morning on the training ground I for one will be ready to deliver from the front and on Tuesday night, those players selected must respond in the right way"
What the players said?
Youngster John Mousinho making only his third appearance as a Brentford player said that the disapointment in the Bees camp was evident,
"Today things just didn't feel right from start to finish. I was pleased to be involved but hopefully we can put things right on Tuesday"
A returning Eddie Hutchinson also echoed his fellow players thoughts,
"We had a real chance of putting a marker down today, but we didn't show up at all. The first half was terrible and we got sucked into playing their game."
Captain Ricky Newman said he was disapointed for the supporters,
"It was a terrible performance and I can only appologise to the excellent travelling support we recieved. We need to go away for a couple of days and make sure against Forest we are on top of our game"
What the fans said?
Steve Jenkins a Southend fan from Woking said,
"I think this showed the difference between the two sides today, Brentford looked nothing like their league position shows. After that display I'm confident that we can gain promotion"
One Brentford fan Paul Adams, summed up nicely,
"It's obviously disapointing that our run is over but this is where we shows what we are made of. Tuesday is the time when we show this league what we can do and what we aim to do for the rest of the season. And don't worry we'll save something special for Southend at Griffin Park later this season!"