Brentford face a potential banana skin in the FA Cup this weekend and will have to be on top of their game to avoid an upset - according to striker Charlie MacDonald.

The Bees travel to last season's giant killers Havant & Waterlooville on Sunday and will be anxious to avoid a third defeat in a row after a disappointing home loss against Rochdale last Saturday, which followed defeat away at Chester the previous week.

MacDonald said: "We've got big games coming up now, starting with Havant in the cup.

"We've lost two on the bounce so questions are going to be asked.

"We've just got to bounce back and show the resilience that we've shown over the course of the season so far.

"We need to prove that we are a good side and that we can pick up results and we are not just a one trick pony.

"The lads are a tad low because we've lost two on the bounce and that's new to us this year, but we'll get back together, regroup again in training this week and make sure the spirits are high again for the Havant game."

MacDonald continued: "It's a big game, a potential banana skin, and it's on TV and people want to see the league club slip up.

"It's going to be a tough game. Havant had a good run last year and they're a decent outfit, so we've just got to go there and make sure we're on it from the start because if we don't, we'll probably get run over.

"But the FA Cup is good fun. If we get past Havant and we're lucky with the draw and get a couple of good ties then you never know how far we can get.

"The manager wants us to up the tempo a bit more and get in their faces and try and do the right things.

"We just need to start our games like we started the second half [against Rochdale] and if we can do that we should be OK."

Despite Brentford's recent slip-ups in the league they are still only four points off first place and MacDonald is confident the team has what it takes to challenge for promotion.

"From the off, we knew that we had a squad good enough to get promoted out of this league, whether it be via the playoffs or straight up.

"It's a long season and we need to make sure we are still in the mix around Christmas time and then kick on again after. We're only 14 or 15 games in, so it's early days. We've still got another 30 or so games to go. We are positive that we're going to be up there in the mix at the end of the season."

MacDonald is looking forward to playing alongside new strike partner Dean Bowditch in the next few weeks.

Ipswich striker Bowditch (right), scored on his Bees debut to kick off a loan spell that will last into January and MacDonald feels that he will bring a new dimension to the Bees' attack.

"Deano's had a good upbringing at Ipswich and technically he's a very good player, very intelligent," MacDonald said.

"He's a massive difference from Nathan [Elder]. Nathan's a big lump who's physical, puts himself about and goes and wins flick-ons, whereas Deano is a little bit similar to myself, so when we do play together we need to play the ball on the ground a lot more and hope-fully link up a lot more around the box.

"The more we train together and the more games we play together, the better it will be."

Bowditch was also positive about his arrival at the club and is looking forward to getting some games under his belt after a frustrating couple of seasons.

"I can see why Brentford are so high in the table," he said.

"The lads are brilliant, the management is good and the training facilities are excellent.

"I've had a stop-start career and a lot of that has been down to injury. Touch wood, I'm over that and can kick-start my career from here."

Match Summary BEES (0) 1 ROCHDALE (2) 2 Line-up: Hamer; Newton (Phillips h/t), Bennett, Wilson (Dickson h/t), Wood; Williams, O'Connor, Bean, Poole; Bowditch, MacDonald. Subs not used: Brown, Pead, Halls. Att: 4,291. GOALS: McArdle (31) William Buckley (40), Bowditch (50). MoM: Dean Bowditch  Next Up

HAVANT & WATERLOOVILLE

West Leigh Park Sunday 2pm FA Cup 1st round

Manager: Shaun Gale Position last season: 7th in Conference South Form Guide: The Hawks have lost their last five league matches - including a 2-1 defeat to Hayes & Yeading at the weekend and a 3-0 defeat at AFC Wimbledon two weeks ago. They lie 15th in the Blue Square Conference South, having lost half of their 14 league games so far. In the FA Cup, they beat Shortwood United 1-0 away in a replay after a 2-2,Godalming 2-1 at home at Crawley 3-0 away to reach the first round.

Players to look out for: Former Bee Paul Brooker has just pitched up at Havant via Chertsey Town. But the midfielder is cup-tied and won't play. Brooker left under something of a cloud after falling out with the fans,but he played 86 games in two seasons at Griffin Park. The assistant boss is Charlie Oatway - another ex Bee. They have former Portsmouth and Gillingham defender Guy Butters in the ranks.

Most recent meetings: The clubs have never met. Havant & Waterlooville were only formed 10 years ago after a merger.

Match Facts: Havant reached the fourth round of the FA Cup last year after beating York City (1-0 away), Notts County (1-0 away) and then Swansea 4-2 in a replay after a 1-1 draw in south Wales. The Hawks led Liverpool twice at Anfield before bowing out 5-2 - former QPR striker Richard Pacquette getting on the scoresheet that day. Havant also reached the first round the season before last, losing to Millwall in a tie switched to Portsmouth's Fratton Park.

Forecast: It could be a tricky afternoon for the Bees - certainly ITV cameras are there in the hope that it will be a close call. But Havant are off form and Scott's men should prevail at the first attempt.

Gazette forecast success rate: 12 correct out of 18 (67%)