Brentford's season came to an end as a 5-1 win over Huddersfield last weekend secured a ninth placed finish in the Championship.

That on it's own is a remarkable achievement, which is made better by the Bees being the highest placed London side.

The final nine games of the season have seen the Bees pick up 22 of a possible 27 and Dean Smith can head into the summer in buoyant spirit.

The journey to this point hasn't all been sweetness and light; indeed it has been a season of ups and downs on and off the pitch.

August - October 3

Brentford had a nightmare start to the season and it was typified by the pitch being ripped up and relaid after just two games; the 2-2 draw with Ipswich and the 4-0 horror show against Oxford.

They also waved goodbye to Andre Gray, who left for Burnley after two league games.

Marinus Dijkhuizen lasted just a few games more before he was unceremoniously sacked after the 2-1 defeat to Sheffield Wednesday.

In fairness to the club, they admitted they made a mistake appointing the Dutchman but the die was cast for the season.

There was further confusion as Lee Carsley, appointed in his stead, announced that he had no interest in wanting the job on a permanent basis.

A relegation scrap looked on the cards as the Bees produced one of the worst performances in a long time to limp to a 2-0 loss at Derby.

October 4 - December

The October international break came at the best time for the Bees who had produced a limp performance at Derby, which is a candidate for the worst display of the season.

However, Lee Carsley worked miracles to turn things around at the training ground, sparking a winning run of form which saw him named manager of the month for October.

The highlight, of course, was the 1-0 win over QPR on October 30 as Marco Djuricin's strike settled the contest.

Alan Judge was also in fine form as he picked up the player of the month gong that month.

November continued in a positive fashion, although there was confusion as Carsley first announced after the 2-1 win over Nottingham Forest was his last game in charge before being back in the dug-out against Bolton.

In the immediate build-up to the game at the Macron Stadium, Brentford appointed Dean Smith as their new head coach.

Smith's first game in charge saw Brentford overcome MK Dons by two goals to nil as they brushed Karl Robinson's team aside.

He was denied victory in the west London derby at Fulham after Jota's goal was ruled out for offside.

The year ended on a high as Sergi Canos scored the goal of the season at Reading with a superb piece of skill.

January - March

January was a torrid month for the Bees as Jota needed to leave the club on loan to sort out personal problems back in Spain.

There was also the James Tarkowski transfer saga, which was sparked by the defender going on strike against Burnley, leading to his eventual sale to Turf Moor.

Toumani Diagouraga also played his last game in red and white stripes as he made the move to Leeds United.

Results didn't improve in February, barring the 3-0 win over Wolves, and the Bees then went on a run of defeats.

Problems mounted for Smith after Brentford were hammered 3-0 by west London rivals QPR, after losing at home to Charlton.

It was even worse when they managed to fall to a 1-0 defeat at home to Blackburn. The only bright moment was when Alan Judge made his richly deserved international debut.

April - May

The high-point of the season as the club took 22 out of a possible 27 points in the final run-in.

The highlight was, of course, the 3-0 demolition of west London rivals Fulham and the Bees followed it up by sticking five past Huddersfield.

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Only likely play-off finalists Hull beat the Bees, with Bristol City also taking points off them.

While results on the pitch were fantastic, the final phase of the season saw the worst moment of the campaign as Alan Judge broke his leg after a horror challenge from Luke Hyam.

To the squad's great credit, they showed resolve after losing their talisman to continue their good run of form with players stepping out of his shadow.

Lasse Vibe returned to form after benefiting from time with the national team, while the return and subsequent goalscoring exploits of Scott Hogan gave the Bees a lot to cheer.

Overall assessment

A ninth placed finish represents a job well done for Brentford this season although there is room for improvement.

Mistakes were made last summer which have been rectified and, as long as the right signings are made, there is no reason why the club can't be challenging for promotion next season.