Former Brentford boss Martin Allen has backed his old side to thrive in the Championship on the eve of the new season.

Allen still holds cult status amongst the Griffin Par faithful after leading them to a great escape from relegation 10 years ago, before twice narrowly missing out on promotion to the Championship in as many years.

Allen, now back for a fourth spell at Barnet, who were beaten 5-1 by Brentford in a pre-season friendly last month, was delighted to see the current crop achieve last season what he narrowly failed to do and clinch a place in the Championship.

He said: “It was fantastic to see Brentford finally do it, and it brought back some great memories of my time there, which I loved, when we went so close twice. It was a great couple of years, but so cruel in the end.

“I will never forget when we were losing to Sheffield Wednesday in the play-offs, and with 20 minutes to go, with our chance of making the final gone, the whole stadium started singing in full voice. That was a very special moment for me. It was hard for them, but all those fan still sung their hearts out in support of the team.

“Brentford will need to strengthen, which they have, and they have recruited good young players with energy and hunger who are on their way up. If you sign players on their way down they think they are doing you a favour.

“They have a tremendous team spirit and a goal of being successful, and while the Championship is a huge step up, I think those young players will thrive up there under the guidance of the manager.

“People make a deal out of the fact that Mark Warburton worked in the city and wasn't a footballer, but neither were Jose Mourinho, Rafa Benitez, Andre Villas-Boas or Brendan Rogers. He also has a fantastic work ethic.”