Brentford produced another poor performance as they fell to a 1-0 defeat to 10-man Blackburn; their fourth successive defeat.

The Bees are now just six points clear of the relegation zone, although do have to play sides down at the bottom of the league.

Below are five talking points to take away from Saturday's latest defeat.

Sleepwalking towards relegation

Harlee Dean of Brentford FC and Alan McCormack of Brentford FC look dejected after Blackburn score the winning goal

Brentford are not showing enough drive and ambition to win games. Jason Steele had two meaningful saves to make in the 90 minutes, one coming from a Yoann Barbet free kick and another from Alan Judge's curling effort.

The root cause of this is poor recruitment. It's time to face facts and say that the players brought in have not replaced those who left.

This is not Dean Smith's fault; the blame lies with those who have been in charge of the club's flawed recruitment strategy.

The unwillingness to invest in January is spectacularly backfiring on the club, who thought they would finish clear of relegation.

Nobody should be saying the club should be competing with big budget sides like Burnley and Middlesbrough but if you're not improving, you're going backwards.

Alan McCormack

That said, the squad seem disjointed and Alan Judge either has lost heart playing with less gifted players or desperate to do everything himself. I'm not sure which it is but his current style of play is harming the team, rather than being the talisman he has been.

The club, from top to bottom, need to take a good look at themselves in the mirror during the international break before returning to ensure they can avoid relegation back to League One.

Leandro Rodriguez performance

Everton loanee Leandro Rodriguez made his debut for Brentford and had a difficult time up against Grant Hanley and Shane Duffy.

The two powerful defenders made the Uruguayan's afternoon difficult but, credit to him, he continued to show desire.

Pen to paper: Leandro Rodriguez

There were flashes of skill but, by and large, Rodriguez was isolated due to the way Brentford were playing.

If he had support up there, it will be fairer to judge him.

John Swift omitted

John Swift was left out of the Brentford squad after his Instagram post on Friday night.

The Chelsea loanee posted a picture, now deleted, of UFC fighter Conor McGregor with the caption 'Some days they love you, some days they hate you; Both days I got paid' and commented by saying 'What a guy'.

Swift had taken criticism for the post before being told to delete it and wrote: 'The last post wasn't a dig at the Brentford fans at all, I apologise'.

Head coach Dean Smith said: “John wasn’t in the team anyway but he posted something on social media that I was made aware of.

Dean Smith looks amazed

“I spoke to him this morning and I just didn’t think it was right to put him on the bench today.

“He explained it when he took it down and apologised. I don’t think there was any malice in it, but it was naive from a young lad.

“Sometimes I don’t think they realise how many people it goes out to once they press the enter key, such is social media.

“He’ll go on international duty now with England Under-21s, which we’re pleased about, but we’ll speak to him.”

In pictures: Brentford fans against Blackburn Rovers

For me, the comment regarding McGregor suggested more a respect for McGregor than any insult towards Brentford.

That being said, I do believe the Instagram post was ill-advised as the message can be intepreted as Swift doesn't care.

I believe he'll learn from it and, hopefully, he'll make an on-pitch apology for starters.

Saunders given a chance

Sam Saunders

Sam Saunders benefited from Swift's punishment as he was given a rare start.

The winger didn't let anyone down over the course of the 83 minutes he was on the pitch but he was unable to have the impact he would like to have.

There is still a role for Saunders at the club but it is better for him to be a squad player to give the Bees some experience and guide the younger ones.

Hogan back in the fold

Possibly the brightest moment of the 90 minutes was seeing Scott Hogan make his home league debut when he came on with 20 minutes remaining in the contest.

19/03/2016 Brentford v Blackburn Rovers. Scott HOGAN

While he didn't get a chance to fully show what he can do, it is a boost all round to see the striker back out on the pitch.

With two weeks off, it gives Hogan a chance to build up strength ready to play regular first team football.