Marcus Bean reckons Brentford's flying start to the season has sent a warning shot to their promotion rivals.

The Bees have gone five-games unbeaten - including four clean sheets - since the Carling Cup defeat at Swansea in early August, and lie sixth in League Two ahead of Saturday's Griffin Park clash with Lincoln City.

And Bean believes their early-season form, which has seen them thump Grimsby 4-0, as well as draws with previously-unbeaten Rotherham and table-toppers Wycombe, has made the rest of the league sit up and take note.

He said: "Our form has sent out a message to the other teams about where we want to be. Teams will fear coming here, and Lincoln will come to Griffin Park expecting a tough game.

"The way teams defensively set their stall out shows that, and they know we are going to bring the game to them.

"It's the sign of respect we've gained from our performances in the first six or seven games. We don't fear anybody."

The 23-year-old midfielder reckons moneybags Shrewsbury Town, who forked out a s170,000 club record fee for former Nottingham Forest striker Grant Holt in the summer, and fallen giants Bradford City will be the teams mixing it with Brentford at the top of the table come May.

"Shrewsbury have spent big and have some experience heads, and Bradford, too, will be up there," said Bean.

"But after that it's a big scramble for the top seven. The players want to be in there, if not in the automatic places."

Bean produced his best performance in a Bees shirt since his summer move from Blackpool in the goalless draw at the Causeway Stadium on Saturday.

But he insists he can get even better.

"I was reasonably happy with my performance, but there's more to come," he said.

"I think I'll improve with the more games I play."

He is now one of FIVE central midfielders at the club, with Kevin O'Connor, Gary Smith, Craig Pead and Frankie Artus all battling it out for one of Scott's two starting spots.

Bean was relegated to the bench after his dismissal at former club Swansea in only his second Brentford outing, but reckons he's now learnt his lesson after feeling the wrath of his boss.

He added: "He made it plain he wasn't happy with it, and warned me about my future conduct. He wanted me to stay on the pitch for 90 minutes. It was for two bookings, but the gaffer doesn't want me to change the way I play.

"Being dropped was something I expected. It was hurtful not being involved. You see the boys doing so well and you want to get in on the act. I want to play as many games as possible."

O'Connor will miss the visit of Peter Jackson's side through suspension after his red card a fortnight ago against Dagenham.