I caught my first game of the pre-season this week – our 2-2 draw with Crystal Palace – and a thoroughly entertaining match it was, too.

Although we didn’t get the victory our display deserved, I’m sure Andy Scott is delighted with how things are shaping up for the new season.

The new boys all look to have slotted in very easily – Myles Weston wreaked havoc up front and linked up well with Ben Strevens, while Sam Saunders looks like he could well be a right-sided Sam Wood.

Most impressive of all, though, was young left-back Ryan Blake, who has been promoted to the first-team squad from our youth ranks.

He may look like a 10-year-old who has been given permission from his mum to stay up late and play with the big boys, but he put in a sterling performance, the highlight of which was a fantastic last-ditch tackle to deny a certain goal.

Despite some shaky moments when we failed to deal with balls into the box, Brentford showed some great passing and movement, putting Neil Warnock and his band of hit-and-hope cloggers to shame.

We had some discussion in the office about whether the Eagles should be described as “Championship also-rans”, “Championship no-hopers” or “Championship relegation-fodder” but, on the evidence of Tuesday’s game, I think all of those monikers could safely apply. We may not have picked up the win but we dominated them in every department.

I was sitting with three reporters who will all be covering Palace this season and, if the look on their ashen faces was anything to go by, the Eagles are in for a tough time.

We Bees fans, on the other hand, can look forward to the new season with optimism.

According to Scott, he is still looking to add two or three players to bolster his squad, which should leave us in a strong position by the time August 8 comes around.

I couldn’t let the week go by without a quick mention of my old pal Ian ‘the Brain’ MacParland, who, due to one of the most bizarre appointments in football history, now finds himself working under Sven-Goran Eriksson, the new director of football at Notts County.

You’d find it hard to imagine a more unlikely pairing but, as the Brain introduces Sven to the subtleties of Division Four football, perhaps in return the Swede can teach MacParland to speak English properly.