The Solent may only be a stone's throw away now – but Martin Allen won't be taking a dip in its freezing waters this time.

The former Brentford boss made national headlines when, in the build up to the Bees' FA Cup tie against Southampton a decade ago, he jumped into the south coast sea to make a point to his players.

It was typical of Allen's madcap schemes which lit up the club for the two years of his reign, before going on to manage the likes of MK Dons, Leicester, Cheltenham, Notts County, Gillingham and Barnet.

Now in charge of Eastleigh, who visit Griffin Park in the third round of the same competition on Saturday, Allen insists he has mellowed with time and won't be motivating his players with any unexpected swims.

Shout it out: Allen at Griffin Park

He said: “They were great times but you can't stay the same person forever, people have to change. Besides which, I had some heart problems not so long ago, so I couldn't keep doing thing like that – I've calmed down a lot.

“At Brentford, with the backing of the Paddock, and the walk along the front of the stand to the dugouts, we made Griffin Park a very intimidating place to come. We went out to impose our personality and character on the opposition, and the supporters loved it.

“It was something we worked on and practiced, a big show to get the whole place going, but I don't go down that route anymore. I've just turned 50, I've had to mellow. I keep out of trouble these days and don't have any hassle with referees.”

More recent: Allen as Barnet boss

Although the Bees came up against a Martin Allen side when they played at Notts County under Uwe Rosler a few years back, Saturday will be the first time he had brought a team back to Griffin Park as manager.

He said: “It will be my first time back as manager and I won't be sleeping a wink between now and Saturday. It was an unbelievable time when I was there, two incredible years, and I am looking forward to going back.

“Brentford are still like a family to me. I always get well looked after when I go back as a guest and get some lovely comments. Saturday will be a very special moment for me but I won't be getting carried away and will be focusing on my job, concentrating on my team.”

His last visit was a scouting mission on New Year's Eve, and if Bees fans were less than impressed with the drab goalless draw against Norwich City, Allen was left knowing his side will have to produce something special to upset the odds.

He added: “I drove down to watch the Norwich game after we had played Boreham Wood and I thought they played well against an ex-Premier League side. I started to take notes, but after 15 minutes I forgot about that and thought let's just get into the game as best we can.

“Brentford have so many dangerous players, and I am praying they sell Scott Hogan in the next 24 hours! We just need to hope they have an off day and we play out of our skins.”

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