Frank plays down significance of Bees going top

Thomas Frank said Brentford being top of the Championship was more important to the supporters than him and his squad.

The Bees are now two points clear of Norwich after a 3-1 win at Reading.

And boss Frank said: “It means more to the fans and the club than it does to me and the players.

“Of course you need to do well to be there and we have done well all season, especially in the 21-game unbeaten run.

“But we must show an even bigger burning desire to continue to work even harder and be extremely focused. We must not get carried away and must focus on recovery and then the next match.

“I would rather be in our position than not – it’s important to try to get as many points as possible as early as possible, so you are not playing catch-up at the end of the season.

“We won’t achieve anything tonight, other than the three good points.”

Frank added that he did not think that going top made his side more of a target for future opponents.

“All teams have something to play for – to avoid relegation or to get as high as possible or into the play-offs,” he said.

“You could see that against Reading. They put on a top performance out there – one of the best performances we have faced all season.

“The way they came flying at us made it very difficult for us, it was remarkable.

“In the second half we upped the tempo and intensity and it was remarkable that we just kept going and went on to get the winner.”

Mathias Jensen limped off at the end, but Frank confirmed he was fine.

“I would have subbed him anyway,” he said.

Brentford now face a run of three games in seven days – hosting Barnsley on Sunday, before making the short trip to QPR next Wednesday, and then Coventry the following Saturday.