Thomas Frank apologised to Brentford fans ahead of their showdown with Derby County after the manager oversaw a disappointing 3-0 defeat at Swansea on Tuesday night.

Daniel James’ finish added to a first half double from Nathan Dyer as The Bees were condemned to their third loss in four games.

Speaking ahead of the clash against play-off chasing Derby this Saturday, Frank lamented his side’s performance and insisted they would turn it around.

"First and foremost, I want to say sorry to the fans, because it was a bad performance for the ones who travelled to support us," he said.

"We appreciate that, massively. We can lose, OK, we know that is football, but I think the performance we put in in the first half was under our normal standards.

"It was slightly better in the second half but the first half was not good enough, no matter if you concede an early goal or not.

"We are definitely not satisfied with that and we need to sort that out as quickly as possible.

"All in all, a very bad first half. The second half was better, on the ball and off the ball, but we couldn't get back into the game."

Frank’s side will now host a Derby County side fresh off a 6-1 thrashing of Rotherham - and the boss knows his players will need to step up their game if they are going to taste victory for the first time in five games.

Brentford will be even more wary after last September’s meeting, when Derby hit back with three first-half goals after The Bees had taken the lead in the first minute.

He added: "They know that we put in a bad performance in the first half. They know that we need to do better.

"They know that we need to step up and have a top performance (against Derby) - that's what we need to see - with a lot of energy, a lot of intensity and a lot of willpower.

“Derby got an important win on Saturday against Rotherham after some wobbly results.

“In terms of style, I think it will be similar to our last meeting - but we need to look at what they’ve done since as it was a long time ago.”

With County unbeaten in four and Brentford in a goal drought, it could be a tall order for Frank’s men.