Kevin O'Connor has paid tribute to former boss Uwe Rosler for his part in Brentford's promotion.
The German helped transform the club after owner Matthew Benham took a punt on the ex-Manchester City striker in 2011.
After narrowly missing out on a spot in the Championship last season, Rosler saw the Bees go on an eight-game unbeaten run before he quit to take over at Wigan Athletic in December.
Mark Warburton picked up the baton and got the west Londoners over the line with three matches to spare after an impressive second half of the campaign.
"Uwe got the ball rolling," said O'Connor. "We were a bang average League One side, but Uwe changed the mentality.
"Everything he did was all Premier League standard. He did amazing, so we’ll be saying thank you to him.
"Warbs come in and has been tremendous. He very rarely loses his cool. He’s got the respect of all the lads. All credit to him."
O'Connor is just two games away from hitting the 500 mark for the Bees, and could reach the milestone if he features in the final games of the season.
But the club captain says clinching promotion against Preston last week was the highlight of his career.
He added: "It’s a tremendous achievement for all the lads. It was the best day of my career."
