Looking for that first win

We're still adapting to playing Championship football again and have struggled to get the sort of start we were all hoping for. Two draws and a defeat from the first three games was not what we were expecting as we look for that first win.

All three games have been close affairs. There were two late goals at Leeds in the 1-1 draw while last week we twice had to come from behind to draw with Birmingham in a game where some big decisions went against us. And then at Ipswich I felt we were more than in the game for the first hour before conceding two goals and then being unable to get back into the game.

It's sixteen seasons since we last played Brentford in the league but we haven't played them at this level since the 1930s so it will be a new experience for most of our players to be playing against them.

Rouwen Hennings: nice feeling playing my first game

There is no doubt that things are changing at Burnley Football Club. Just a week ago, as we looked forward to the Birmingham game, we'd been greeted with the news of a striker signing, that of German Rouwen Hennings and now, today, it is similar news with Andre Gray having signed in a record breaking transfer from tomorrow's opponents.

Those of us at Ipswich got our first glimpse of Hennings; he came on for Jelle Vossen just ten minutes into the second half. It's been a bit of a whirlwind for him but he seems to be settling into life at Turf Moor.

He said of his first week and his new team mates: "It's a really nice week. I've so much to do and I played my first game for the team and it's a really nice feeling. They are really nice and help me where they can. They show me things I have to do, they are all really helpful."

Of his debut, he added: "It takes some time but it was the first step and I think we have a really good team.

"It's a little bit different. In Germany we stay a little bit in our area and wait until the other team is in the area and then we attack. Here it is a little bit more attack but I like that and in a few weeks it is easy for me to play that type of football.

"I hope I will play (against Brentford). At Birmingham I see the crowd. It's a really loud atmosphere. Yes I want to play and show how my skills can help the team."

It is likely to be the same squad that played at Ipswich. Matt Lowton, signed from Villa in the summer, is fit and back in training but isn't ready to play while Fredrik Ulvestad is getting closer.

The team at Ipswich was: Tom Heaton, Tendayi Darikwa, Michael Duff, Michael Keane, Ben Mee, George Boyd, Scott Arfield, David Jones, Michael Kightly, Jelle Vossen, Sam Vokes. Subs: Matt Gilks, Tom Anderson, Stephen Ward, Matt Taylor, Marvin Sordell, Lukas Jutkiewicz, Rouwen Hennings.

It's been all change at Brentford this summer. Despite winning promotion from League One in 2014, and hovering close to the play-offs all last season, finally getting in them only to lose to Middlesbrough in the semi-final, owner Matthew Benham wanted a change of direction and dispensed with the services of manager Mark Warburton, his assistant David Weir and sporting director Frank McParland who has since joined us in a similar role.

It was all done because the owner wanted to implement a statistical approach to player recruitment. It's the moneyball philosophy that has come from the world of baseball and a system that Benham has already implemented, and with some success, at his Danish club FC Midtjylland.

New head coach Marinus Dijkhuizen has certainly got a very different squad to the one that ended last season. Apart from the likes of Alex Pritchard, who has returned to parent club Spurs, they've lost a number of their important players.

Stuart Dallas has signed for Leeds while Jonathan Douglas is now at Ipswich; both have played against us for their new clubs this season. Hull spent a reported £3.5 million on Moses Odubajo and today we added a few more million into their coffers for Andre Gray who will be watching the game tomorrow.

They've made nine signings since the end of last season. Seven of those have come from outside the UK. The two domestic signings are Ryan Williams from Morecambe and their highest profile newcomer, Josh McEachran from Chelsea who cost them around £750,000.

They've had two dramatic games to start their season. They trailed Ipswich 2-0 at home on the opening day of the season before scoring twice in stoppage time to earn a draw. Gray got the first one with James Tarkowski, once a Burnley target, getting the second.

Last week they were losing 1-0 and 2-1 at Bristol City who then had a player sent off. Brentford then went on to win 4-1 with goals this time from Alan Judge(2), Gray and Philipp Hofmann.

Their midweek game at home to Birmingham was postponed with them relaying the Griffin Park pitch.

With Gray now with us, they will have to make at least one team change from the team that won at Ashton Gate.

The team was: David Button, Alan McCormack, Harlee Dean, James Tarkowski, Jake Bidwell, Toumani Diagouraga, Alan Judge, Konstantin Kerschbaumer, Andre Gray, Philipp Hofmann, Akaki Gogia. Subs: Jack Bonham, Yoann Barbet, Jermaine Udumaga, Courtney Senior, Josh Clarke, Jack O'Connell, Lasse Vibe.

Last Time They Were Here

When Brentford pitched up at Burnley at the beginning of October 1999, we were second in the table, just a point behind leaders Bristol Rovers after nine games.

Our opponents Brentford weren't too far behind and had won a week earlier with Paul Evans scoring a spectacular goal to beat Cardiff, and the same player repeated it to give the Bees a point after we'd looked certain to record a fifth successive home win.

Incredibly he'd missed the best chance of the first half but it was the Clarets who were the better side and who went into the half time interval with a 2-0 lead.

Andy Payton heads Burnley into the lead

Evans had missed his chance when Glen Little picked up the ball midway through the first half down the right hand side. He switched the ball from right foot to left; he ghosted between two defenders before crossing for Andy Payton who, from eight yards out, didn't need any second invitation.

It was similar stuff eight minutes later. Again Glen got in a cross. This time defender Darren Powell headed it out but it was a poor header and allowed Paul Cook to come in and head home.

We could so easily have had a couple more in the opening minutes of the second half, but nine minutes in we gave a poor goal away. Gordon Armstrong received the ball on the half way line and inexplicably turned back and tried to play a back pass to Paul Crichton.

It didn't get there and Brentford's Scott Partridge came from nowhere to collect the ball and loop a shot over Crichton and into the net.

It became end to end stuff and it was just a matter of who got the next goal, and with ten minutes to go it went their way and earned them a point in a 2-2 draw.

and Paul Cook heads home our second

John Mullin tried to play the ball for Little but it rebounded into the path of Evans who, seeing Crichton off his line, hit home from fully 45 yards.

Burnley through everything at them to try and win but there were no more goals and we'd dropped home points for the first time in the season.

The teams were;

Burnley: Paul Crichton, Dean West, Steve Davis, Mitchell Thomas, Gordon Armstrong, Glen Little, Micky Mellon (John Mullin), Paul Cook, Paul Smith (Lenny Johnrose), Graham Branch (Andy Cooke), Andy Payton. Subs not used: Chris Brass, Alan Lee.

Brentford: Andy Woodman, Hermann Hreidarsson, Ijah Anderson (Derek Bryan), Darren Powell, Rob Quinn, Paul Evans, Martin Rowlands (David Theobald), Gavin Mahon, Lloyd Owusu (Richard Kennedy), Scott Partridge, Andy Scott. Subs not used: Jason Pearcey, Gareth Graham.

Previous Games against Brentford

Click HERE to see all previous results against Brentford (no cup games shown prior to season 1986/87)