Brentford fans “can dream of Europe” after climbing to seventh place in the Premier League by beating Southampton, says Ben Mee.
Defender Mee put the hosts in front, meeting Bryan Mbuemo’s cross with a hard-hitting header in the 41st minute.
And three minutes later, Brentford doubled their lead after Mbuemo sent Yoane Wissa’s cut-back into the bottom corner.
Mathias Jensen added a third nine minutes from time, nodding in a Rico Henry cross from close range.
“There’s a really good buzz in the locker room and at the club,” Mee told BBC Match of the Day.
“The fans can dream of Europe, we will keep going and work hard for them. We will keep going and get results.”
With relegation rivals Everton ahead of Arsenal and Wolves beating Liverpool, the loss left Southampton three points from a safe Premier League position.
Meanwhile, Brentford extended their unbeaten run to nine matches, their longest in the top flight for 87 years.
Pride of West London, the bees know what they are
Brentford’s victory moved them above Fulham – and they were already ahead of another west London side at Chelsea.
The Bees, unbeaten in the league since October 23, have always looked better against their struggling opponents and are now just six points from a place in the top four.
“I think it’s important that we have that confident but humble attitude where we dream a little bit,” Brentford boss Thomas Frank said on the match day.
“We say we want to stay as high as possible, but the minimum criteria is always to stay in the league.
“But we want to finish as high as possible, so let’s see how far that goes.”
Frank’s side nearly took the lead in the eighth minute when Wissa rounded Southampton keeper Gavin Bazunu to hit the ball against the crossbar from a tight angle.
And, after a flurry of half chances, the hosts headed past through Mee, with the defender rising tall to meet Mbuemo’s seductive cross.
Mee was checked for a concussion immediately after his opener faced a Saints defender but was able to continue as the Bees doubled their lead through Mbuemo.
Brentford’s top scorer Ivan Toney cleared an effort from the line midway through the second half before Jensen completed the win with a header into the far corner.
Southampton still anchored to the bottom
Southampton may have scared Newcastle in the Carabao Cup semi-final on Tuesday, but against Brentford they looked docile.
The visitors went close when James Ward-Prowse scored on goal early in the first half, but the midfielder opted to put the ball just out of team-mate Che Adams’ reach when the shot looked the best option .
In the second half, substitute Theo Walcott had a decent strike blocked by a combination of Ethan Pinnock and Mads Roerslev to make it 2-0.
It is in defence, however, that Saints manager Nathan Jones will be most worried.
Southampton have conceded 53 goals in their last 27 Premier League appearances, keeping just one clean sheet in that span, and they have been opened up by Brentford on several occasions.
The Saints are still rooted to the bottom of the table as they hope to improve on a run that has resulted in four defeats in their last five games.
They face Wolves next Saturday, while Brentford face leaders Arsenal on the same day.
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