It might be the final day of the regular season and they may have one eye on the play-offs, but Thomas Frank insists his Brentford side will not take their foot off the gas. 

The Bees travel to Bristol City knowing they are guaranteed a spot in the play-offs, which begin on May 17, having secured a third-place finish in the Championship for the second successive year. 

With that in mind, Frank has admitted that resting some of his key men will be part of his thinking for the trip to Ashton Gate. 

However, any suggestion that the fixture may be taken lightly has been strongly rebuffed. 

“We want to keep momentum, intensity, and that good feeling of winning; that will be the biggest aim,” Frank said. 

“The last two games, Rotherham United and Watford, after we knew it was the play-offs, we rested two to four players overall only because it made sense not to play Christian Norgaard and Vitaly Janelt fully and Ethan Pinnock had a minor injury.  

“We will come strong. I believe in rhythm and momentum and that will be the aim going into the next game. Of course, we will have that rest in mind, but it will be a strong team.” 

After the disappointment of missing out on automatic promotion, largely due to a huge number of mid-season draws, Brentford have hit form at just the right time ahead of the play-offs with three impressive wins on the spin. 

Those performance levels mean that there is confidence that they can triumph in the two-legged semi-finals no matter who they end up facing. 

Swansea City, Bournemouth and Barnsley are also all guaranteed play-off spots but their precise finishing spots from fourth to sixth could yet change – not that that is bothering Bees boss Frank. 

“For me it doesn’t matter [who they face],” he said. 

“It is three other strong teams that have a different style and, in different ways, have had a strong season.  

“If you looked at the Champions League semi-finals and the squads of the four teams going into the semi-final it would be impossible to predict who will go through to the final.  

“Then you had the margins of the games and injuries which changed the dynamics and in the end it was a relatively clear win for Chelsea and Manchester City. In the play-offs last year the games were so even.  

“Last year with us we were 3-0 in front then we give a goal away. Fulham won 2-0 away to Cardiff City, gave a goal away and suddenly there was pressure. It will be the finest margins which will define those semi-finals.” 

But, what he does care more about is the return of fans – with the date of the first semi-final coinciding with when matches in England are set to welcome back a limited number of supporters. 

“I look forward to having the fans in and I’m 100 per cent sure the players feel the same,” Frank said. 

“I want to get that connection, backing, and emotion where we are in it together with our fans. With or without fans the players are still in that performance bubble so sometimes you don’t hear them.  

“I think the players will be so focused on the task ahead of them but, because it is the first time in a long time, the first minute or ten minutes might be a bit different.”