Head coach Dean Smith is happy his men are on the right track to be ready for the opening day of the Championship campaign despite defeat to League One Peterborough United.

The Bees went down 1-0 to The Posh at Griffin Park on Tuesday, but it could have been very different with Scott Hogan, Lasse Vibe, Ryan Woods and Sam Saunders all going close.

Smith is sweating on the fitness of defender Andreas Bjelland and Maxime Colin ahead of the new season and an injury crisis at right back saw young midfielder Jan Holldack thrust into service.

And the coach felt his side had made a marked improvement on their performance in Saturday's 1-1 draw with FC Kaiserslautern

"It was a better performance and how we didn't score I don't know with the chances we had, but we looked more like ourselves," he said.

"It gives me good heart that we are on the right path to be where we want to be come August 6.

"It was a really good game for us. They like to play football and I thought we dominated the ball for long periods.

"We created a number of opportunities that I'd like to think we will be taking in a couple of weeks.

"The only negative was the ball didn't go in the back of the net.

"Our delivery and movement at a set-pieces is something I want them to work on.

"But overall we had control of the ball, looked more fluid and increased the tempo towards the end of the game."