Brentford boss Dean Smith is excited by the potential of his side after they romped to a 5-1 opening day victory against Rotherham in the Championship.

Neal Maupay grabbed a brace while Sergi Canos, Ollie Watkins and Lewis MacLeod were also on the scoresheet as the hosts dominated from start to finish at Griffin Park.

The result was Brentford’s best opening day win since 1994, when they won by the same scoreline at Plymouth Argyle in what is now League One, and saw them top the Championship.

But despite Smith being delighted with the comprehensive win against newly-promoted Rotherham, he admitted the late goal his side conceded took some of the shine off the performance.

“We're all excited about the group and what the potential is, but at the moment the word is potential,” said Smith after the game.

“I just had a little go at them after a 5-1 victory, which doesn’t happen very often, it was just the manner of the goal that we conceded.

“I want us to keep our standards up, it got to 4-0, 5-0 and we started playing a little bit sloppily at the back and not looking to try and score.

“I want us to try and go and score every time we’ve got the ball, be positive about it and you don’t get that many opportunities when you’re four or five-up in a game.

“I thought we took our foot off the gas a little bit and I understand it because of the heat, but it’s the small details that I want them to get better at.

“I think the pace and power in the team is a fright to anybody. You see the likes of Ollie Watkins, Sergi Canos and Saïd Benrahma running at you, it can be scary for the opposition.”

A one-sided first half saw the Bees take a fourth-minute lead through Maupay, before Canos fired home a second after a flick on from MacLeod’s corner.

Watkins added a third off the underside of the bar soon after the restart, with Maupay tapping in his second and Brentford’s fourth on the hour mark.

MacLeod finished the scoring for Brentford with a fine strike from 20 yards, while Will Vaulks scored an injury-time consolation with his own long-distance shot.

Canos later dedicated his first-half goal to his grandfather, who passed away last month, and said it was almost the perfect start to the new season.

“It would have been perfect if we didn’t concede that goal at the end, but we put in a good performance and it gives us a lot of confidence into the next game,” he said.

“My goal wasn’t the nicest but it was important before the break and it was important for me as I could give the goal to my granddad, who passed away one month ago.

“It was really important for me and for the team. I think we have a good connection and we did really well to score five goals in the first game, it gives us lots of confidence.”