Brentford

Jake Bidwell praises "positive" Dean Smith impact at Brentford

By Daniel Lewis, Senior Reporter | 07 December 2015

Jake Bidwell reveals that Dean Smith is not looking to change too much on the field upon taking charge of Brentford, having made a winning start to his tenure.

Brentford defender Jake Bidwell has hailed new boss Dean Smith for the "positive impact" he has had during his first week in charge.

The 44-year-old watched on from the stands during last week's 1-1 draw with Bolton Wanderers, before officially overseeing his first match at the helm in a 2-0 win over MK Dons on Saturday.

Brentford had to contend with continuous speculation surrounding the managerial job, which stand-in boss Lee Carsley made clear he did not want on a full-time basis.

However, with a settled backroom set-up now in place, Bidwell was quick to praise the influence of former Walsall chief Smith.

"It's been a positive week," Get West London quotes him as saying. "We've had the manager situation hanging over us. We've been thankful for Lee and the work he did. Dean and Richard (O'Kelly) have come in this week and had a positive impact on everyone as you saw against MK Dons.

"He's put a couple of points across but he didn't want to confuse things in his first few days. In the coming weeks he'll put his stamp on things. He made it clear that what we've been doing has been working so we'll carry on. If he can add to that, then great."

Brentford have lost just one of their last nine games to move within one point of the playoff zone.