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Brentford still in play-off mix, says boss Dean Smith

BRENTFORD, ENGLAND - JANUARY 06:  Dean Smith, Manager of Brentford during the The Emirates FA Cup Third Round match between Brentford and Notts Country at
Image: Brentford manager Dean Smith still has aspirations of the top six

Brentford boss Dean Smith is not giving up on his side's play-off dream this season, despite the club being eight points off the pace in the Sky Bet Championship.

The Bees are 10th in the table ahead of their trip to Sunderland this weekend and Smith, who was on EFL Matters on Thursday, said: "Obviously you'd like to be in the mix for the top six.

LISTEN: EFL Matters podcast
LISTEN: EFL Matters podcast

Presenter David Prutton is joined by Dean Smith and Lee Hendrie on the EFL Matters podcast.

"Three games ago we were two points off the play-offs and then we lost two and have drawn one of the last three and all of a sudden we're playing catch up.

"But we've been doing that for a long period. We didn't win for the first eight games and we've had a great run since then. We believe we can still be there but we just need to take it one game at a time."

Brentford got off to a difficult start but are still arguably punching above their weight in an extremely tough second tier.

There are a lot of big clubs in the Championship but Smith believes his side can beat anyone on their day.

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Highlights of the Sky Bet Championship match between Brentford and Preston

"Our aim was to be competitive, but it's a really tough league and there are probably 12 clubs who believe they're going to be in the top two because of their history and fanbase," he said.

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"We believe with the way we play and do things we can be competitive against them. We knew it would be hard to reach the top six, but we're still in there with a shout.

"We've had a really consistent season, probably moreso than last year, but we've probably drawn too many games that we've dominated. If anyone takes us on in a really open football match we're usually the victors, so we've seen a lot of teams come to our place to bank up and make it very difficult for us."

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