The 2013-14 will live long in the memory of Brentford fans after clinching promotion to the Championship.

Mark Warburton's men secured second spot behind League One champions Wolves to bounce back from last year's heartbreak that saw them miss out in devastating fashion on the final day of the campaign and again in the play-offs.

But how did the Bees go one better this time around to win promotion against Preston over the Easter weekend with three games to spare?

Star striker Clayton Donaldson again led the way in the scoring charts with 17 goals, followed by on-loan Fulham frontman Marcello Trotta, who netted 12 times.

The most important of those - the winner against Leyton Orient in March - saw Brentford leapfrog their London rivals in the table and they never looked back.

However, the Bees didn't have things all their own way after a stuttering start to the campaign.

Just four wins in their opening 11 games left them off the pace and things came to a head when former boss Uwe Rosler kept his troops locked in the dressing room for an hour after the defeat at Stevenage in mid October.

This proved the catalyst for an incredible 19-match unbeaten run that established them as serious promotion contenders.

Low: Brentford's defeat at Stevenage in October proved the turning point

Even the departure of Rosler to Wigan before Christmas couldn't halt Brentford's promotion train, with Warburton stepping up from his role as sporting director to take over the reins in TW8.

A 3-0 home defeat to Wolves in February saw the Bees slip out of the top two. However, this was just a blip for the west Londoners, whose victory over Orient the following month gave them the upper hand in the promotion race.

The win knocked the sails out of Russell Slade's side, with in-form Rotherham, who completed the double over the Bees, now emerging as the biggest threat.

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However, Brentford's win against Crawley in early April, coupled with the Millers' defeat at Sheffield United on the same night, saw Warburton's men open up a nine-point gap.

And they grabbed promotion at the first possible opportunity on what turned out to be a very Good Friday against Preston.

Needing victory over PNE and Orient and Rotherham to falter, all of the results went to plan as Bees fans flooded the pitch to celebrate reaching the second tier for the first time for more than two decades.

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Brentford's campaign, which also saw them granted planning permission for a new ground at Lionel Road, was given another boost after midfielder Adam Forshaw was named League One Player of the Year.

The former Everton youngster, as well as team-mate Jake Bidwell, was also named in the PFA Team of the Year, voted by their fellow professionals.   

The icing on the cake saw stalwart Kevin O'Connor make his 500th appearance for the club against Stevenage on the final day as the Bees brought the curtain down on a memorable campaign.