Brentford boss Dean Smith has put his side's goal-laden end of season form down to a more pragmatic approach.

The Bees beat Huddersfield Town 5-1 in Yorkshire last weekend to secure a ninth place finish in the Championship table on the back of a run-in that featured seven wins from their final nine matches.

The romp - coupled with a further 21 goals in that run - meant Smith's men finished the campaign as the division's joint leading scorers alongside champions Burnley and third-placed Brighton & Hove Albion.

The Bees have been managed by three different head coaches this term and been forced to rebuild their squad after a host of high-profile departures - including Premier League-bound Andre Gray.

The turmoil - and the absence of players like Andreas Bjelland (injured) and James Tarkowski (sold in January) - has taken its toll on the team's defensive record with 67 goals conceded being the worst among the division's top 16.

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Happy run-in: Brentford won seven of their last nine games of the Championship season

The Bees seemed to be heading for relegation prior to April and Smith admitted becoming more organised had paid dividends with only seven goals conceded during the past nine games.

"I think it would be fair to say my approach has become more pragmatic," he said of his team's resurgence.

"It's also down to the players we've had available.

"We were very gung-ho when I came in. Then we went on a poor run and had to become better organised behind the ball and we had to stop getting beat.

"We've done that and I'm really proud of the players.

"They've turned it around and got seven wins in the last nine games. It's a tremendous turnaround and a credit to them. I was stood on the sideline at Huddersfield and thought how organised they look."

Brentford's mid-season malaise under Smith - featuring a run of only two wins in 14 games after temporary chief Lee Carsley had steadied the ship in the wake of Marinus Dijkhuizen's sacking - ultimately cost the club a shot at the play-offs as they finished just nine points off the top six.

And the head coach admitted his settling in period after an initial bright start with a 2-0 win over MK Dons, had taken some adjusting to.

"I've got a great staff here. I've had to learn about what they do. At Walsall I was used to running the whole club, but here there are a lot of things I don't need to do and there is a great staff.

"They've all helped get the players out on the pitch and with our turnaround.

Alan Judge was crowned the players' and supporters' player of the year at the weekend, with David Button named the Bees Travel Club's away player of the year.

By contrast, loanes Marco Djuricin, Sergi Canos and John Swift have returned to their parent clubs, goalkeeper Mark Smith has been released and young defender Josh Clarke has been offered a new contract for next term.