Brentford are aiming to continue their strong start to the Championship season and win the division, according to goalkeeper Daniel Bentley.

The Bees are unbeaten so far this season ahead of Wednesday's trip to Aston Villa to take on last season's beaten play-off finalists in a game that will test their title winning credentials.

Dean Smith's side have scored 12 goals in four matches so far this season, including a 5-1 win over Rotherham United, a 4-2 victory in the Carabao Cup over Bentley's old side Southend, and most recently, a comprehensive 2-0 victory over Sheffield Wednesday.

That form has seen them up with the early pace setters in the division, and ahead of the game with Villa, Bentley is insistent that Brentford fear no one and that their aim is the very top of the Championship.

He told football.london: “We’re aiming to win the division - there’s no secret about that.

“If you don’t aim to win it then you won’t.

“If we aim to get into the play-offs and fall short then we’ve failed, if we aim to win the league and we fall short we’re either second or in the play-offs and that’s a second chance if you like.

“We want to go all out - we fear nothing in this division and we know we have to look after ourselves as a team and as a club and make sure we focus and concentrate on what we’re doing.

(Image: Paul Burgman)

“But all in all, we know we can go and match anybody in this division, regardless of the size of club or the budget or whatever it may be.”

Brentford have flown somewhat under the radar in recent years, despite never finishing lower than 10th since their promotion from League One back in 2014.

That doesn't seem to be the case this season, with most in the Championship recognising the Bees as one of a handful of teams with serious play-off ambitions, while their brand of football is gaining plaudits across the country.

It's something that Bentley and his team mates have had to get used to over the past few campaigns, and the 25-year-old believes adapting to those situations is something they've vastly improved at.

(Image: Paul Burgman)

“In terms of going into games, a lot of teams try to stop us playing," he added.

“When teams don’t manage to stop us doing that they try to adapt and let us have the ball in certain areas, but I think it’s important to us and we’ve adapted and learnt that when teams do come and try stop us playing and bring in tactics to make it difficult, it’s important we come up with the solutions.

“I think that’s something we’ve improved on in the last twelve months especially, but since I’ve been here, we’ve managed to find solutions for more problems, whereas before, we were a bit of a unknown and a surprise package in which teams wouldn't know what to expect.

“But now, they know we play good football and we have to be better when teams stop us and try to adapt and find solutions and make sure we aren’t being stopped and find ways to get round those difficulties.”

This season, there's a new central defensive partnership in front of Bentley at Griffin Park.

Ezri Konsa was signed in the summer from Charlton Athletic and he and Chris Mepham, who Brentford fought off interest for over transfer window, have been Smith's go-to pairing so far this season.

With both just 20-years-old, mistakes will happen in that crucial area of the pitch, but Bentley knows it falls to him to make sure Konsa and Mepham are both doing their jobs.

“Ezri and Meps are constantly at each other’s throats in a jokey way and going at each other with banter all the time, so they’re gaining a good relationship.

(Image: Stoke Sentinel)

“I feel like a bit of a grandad behind them with the amount of games that I’ve played and my age compared to those two.

“But it’s my job to control those two and make sure that they’re doing their jobs properly and have done and will continue to do so.”

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