WHEN Brentford manager David Webb offered to quit after a 1-0 defeat at Preston North End six days ago there could have been a hidden agenda in his motives, writes TONY DEWHURST.

Iron-man Webb dropped his bombshell after being barracked by a small band of travelling fans.

"They called me a waste of space and, if that's what they want, I'll give them the space and go," he rapped.

"I don't need the game that badly. We're top of Division Two and that was our first defeat for 15 games. But, with people like that, there is no point in carrying on."

Phrases like mind games and psychological warfare spring to mind as Brentford prepare to face Burnley at Griffin Park tomorrow.

And the point was not lost on Clarets manager Adrian Heath as he prepared for tomorrow's showdown with the title favourites in West London.

"I think he might have been throwing one in to get everybody wound up for tomorrow," observed a cautious Heath.

"It was probably Webby's way of trying to get everybody behind the team and trying to re-focus the players for the final run in.

"I've watched the situation with interest since the weekend.

"Brentford, all of a sudden, are having a little bit of a form blip and I don't think it is any coincidence that he did what he did last weekend.

"I went to see them against Wycombe (0-0) and they didn't play particularly well. I could sense the crowd was a bit edgy and you could feel it in the ground.

"One bloke behind me shouted: 'Sort them out Webby, we are going to end up in the play-offs.' That tension was there and maybe we could take advantage of that."

Heath, though, was still surprised by the fans' hostility towards Webb who has seen Brentford leading the pack for five months.

Heath added: "I think their reaction underlines the immense pressures on management teams.

"It really is incredible at times and certainly a lot different to say 10 years ago.

"Webb has had them leading the division nearly all season and he finds himself getting slaughtered for one defeat at Preston.

"Nobody can justify that in any shape or form. Fans want success today and not tomorrow.

"What do these people want. People in Stoke still talk fondly about the Tony Waddington era at the Victoria Ground.

"But he only won one trophy in 12 years. Managers are just not given the time now and Tony probably wouldn't have lasted two years in this day and age."

Heath knows Burnley have not faced a tougher assignment all season. Brentford have lost just five of their 34 league games and brought to a conclusion Burnley's eight game league and cup run in December (their best sequence of results under Heath).

But lately their form has taken a dip with just one win in their last five league games, stoking fears that Brentford could be caught in the home straight with Luton and Bury closing the gap.

Webb said: "Burnley are one of the form teams at present and we had somebody watching them against Peterborough. By all accounts they were superb but I'd expect them to be more cautious tomorrow.

"I still think they could be the team to make a late surge for promotion, automatic even. We need a result against Burnley but we will need to firing on all cylinders if we are going to achieve that."

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