Thomas Frank was last night allowing himself to take stock of Brentford’s remarkable winning run over a glass of wine, but warned his side will be “ready for anything” in the final week of the Championship promotion race.
Ollie Watkins’s 25th goal of the season earned a 1-0 home victory over Preston, the Bees’ eighth win on the bounce, to close the gap on second-placed West Brom to a single point, with just two games to play.
“We want more, of course we want to aim higher,” said Frank. “Whatever is thrown at us, we are ready for it. That’s the beauty of this league.
“We are in the play-offs, that’s a fact, so why not give it a go for direct promotion? We’re on a high. The only thing we can do is focus on the next game. I’m looking at [Saturday’s meeting with] Stoke, seeing if we can win nine in a row. If we want to give it a shot, we need to win again on Saturday.”
Even if the Bees win their two remaining games to set a club record of 10 in a row, it may not be enough to overhaul West Brom, who know victories over Huddersfield and QPR will send them into the top flight.
It is for that reason that Frank is determined to recognise his side’s achievement in isolation. “Sometimes you forget to enjoy the moment,” Frank said. “What I’m thinking now is that I need to sit down with a glass of wine and think, ‘Wow, that is actually quite good’.”
