Dean Smith waxed lyrical about his Brentford charges after they hammered Birmingham City 5-0 on Tuesday night.

The Bees ran riot over Steve Cotterill’s relegation-threatened Blues to move within three points of the Championship play-off positions.

Ollie Watkins’ brace, plus efforts from Florian Jozefzoon, Neil Maupay and a Marc Roberts own goal gave the home side a convincing victory.

And, according to Smith, the win was among the best he has witnessed since taking the reins at Griffin Park in 2015.

“It was certainly up there,” said the Bees boss. “We were very good against a team that is scrapping at the bottom end of the table. We worked very hard.

“Our energy levels after a tough game on Saturday [away at Sunderland] were right up there.

“The quality of our play was very good and to score five goals in any Championship game takes a lot of doing.

“We ended up with 28 attempts on goal, 21 of them from inside the box.

“We knew before the game that this was a big week. The top teams and the ones who go on to do something are the ones who show that little bit extra and have that extra desire and character.

“We are in a very good place at the moment. We have to make sure that we hang on to those above us.

“To go this week scoring seven and keeping two clean sheets is very pleasing. The lads can take a lot of confidence and belief from that. They are working very hard and getting their rewards.”