Lewis Macleod admitted Brentford were not at the races after the Bees were dumped out of the FA Cup by League Two promotion hopefuls Notts County.

Jon Stead’s fine curling effort was the difference between the sides at Griffin Park on Saturday, in a match which saw Dean Smith’s side hit the woodwork twice.

Brentford’s solid Championship form has seen them climb into the top half of the table, six points off the play-offs, and their league campaign will now be their sole focus after exiting the cup.

Despite Brentford sporting a much-changed line-up against the Magpies, Scottish midfielder Macleod was not happy with the performance on the day.

“It was disappointing to say the least," said the 23-year-old, who joined from Rangers in 2015. “We had a lot of the ball but once we got into the final third we didn’t do enough with it.

“We had a few boys out there who play regularly, but of course changes to the team will disrupt the flow a little.

“Nothing seemed to go for us. We’ve hit the post a couple of times and Neal’s [Maupay] tried to slide one in as well, but we can’t use that as an excuse. We weren’t good enough.

“Stead has come in on his left foot and curled it into the top corner – if they were going to score a goal today it was always going to be like that. Unfortunately, we couldn’t get one back.”