Brentford boss Dean Smith says squad do not fear Newcastle United

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Dean Smith insists his team are looking forward to heading to St. James’ Park.

Brenford’s head coach Dean Smith says players are looking forward to their visit to St James’ Park and insists that they do not fear the task ahead of them, as quoted by the club’s official Twitter account.

The Bees will head to Newcastle United for their first fixture after the international break on Saturday but Smith is confident that his side can rise to the occasion.

At his pre-game press conference, the head coach said: “Newcastle United are a big club who have a fantastic fanbase. That will certainly whet the appetite of a lot of the players.

“They are a team littered with players who have graced the Premier League. We know the task that we are coming up against and we respect it but we are not in awe of it and we do not fear it.”

Newcastle, who have only lost one at St. James’ Park in their last five home games, are currently sitting in third place in the Championship and Smith fully expects them to be the favourites.

He added: “Everyone will expect Newcastle to win except in our dressing room. When the odds are against us that’s when we’re usually very good.”

Brentford have had a positive start to the season and currently sit in seventh place having recorded some impressive wins including a 4-1 victory over Reading and a 5-0 win over Preston.

On the road, though, they only have one victory against Brighton but did manage to hold the other recently relegated side, Aston Villa, to a draw, an experience Smith is hoping they can build on.

“The boys did well at Brighton and Aston Villa and this is as big a test again. They need to stand up again and they know that.”

Brentford have only conceded nine goals so far this season but have netted a massive 18 goals from eight different players so have the attacking capability to make their mark.

Bees midfielder Scott Hogan currently leads the tally with seven in 11 games and was September’s Championship Player of the Month so will be feeling confident heading to St. James’ Park.