Dean Smith is looking forward to pitting his wits against Blackburn manager Paul Lambert when Brentford face Rovers at Griffin Park on Saturday.
The Bees head coach knows the former Aston Villa boss after facing him in pre-season friendlies when at Walsall and he is glad to see him back in work.
Smith. who is a Villa fan, knows the difficult job Lambert had to do at Villa Park, which has been made even clearer given the struggles Tim Sherwood and Remi Garde have had under Randy Lerner's control, so is pleased to see the Scot's reputation hasn't been tarnished.
He said: “We used to play pre-season friendlies against Aston Villa with Paul in charge. It's nice to see him get a job after Aston Villa at Blackburn and pit my wits against him.
“He's not been the only one who's struggled at Villa. He went in to do a job there. Unfortunately, as is the industry, he's lost his job and he's bounced back at Blackburn who have seen the job he did at Wycombe and Norwich.”
Smith has come under pressure from supporters after a run of defeats but he's been doing his utmost to lift the confidence of his side through hard work on the training pitch.
He added: “We've been working on the belief in what we do. I felt when the second goal went in, we had players trying to do things on their own. Our reaction to it didn't allow us to get back into the game.
“I've tried squad days out in the past but I think, with me only being here three months, the most important thing is to get on the training ground and work harder.
“In the last few games, we've tried to chase the game ourselves. We need to just stay in control and do the right things. A goal from a mistake shouldn't affect you.”
