However because of the successes on the pitch so far the second month of the year was to be nothing of the sort. With the games stacking up because of Cup successes Martin Allen once more had to continue to rotate the pack ahead of the battle with at the Valley and also continue to keep up the pressure on Southend and Colchester at the top of the table.
The first task for the club was to put the sale of DJ Campbell behind them and start putting a good streak of wins together in the League. The clubs first challenge was to overcome Walsall at Griffin Park. With worries surrounding their striker situation the players set out to prove that they were not to be denied this season saw Brentford win 5-0 with all players putting in an impressive show.
Rankin got the party started earlier and was joined by Newman, Brooker, Sodje and O'Connor on the scoresheet. It was a boost to Martin Allen who feared that the wind may eventually be taken out of Brentford's sails because of their cup successes, but the win pushed the bees up to third and got their fans dreaming of an automatic promotion place.
Next up, Brentford saw off a battling Bristol City at Aston Gate as their run in the League and Cup continued. A goal in the final ten minutes from Owusu was enough to convince Martin Allen of his sides ability to dig in and the forward player who had been much maligned since his return to Griffin Park, gave the suporters something to shout about with a much needed winning goal.
With two games in hand over leaders and just a six point defecit between the two, it was all in Brentford's hands as the next team on the agenda were table topping Southend. After being promoted the blues had done tremendously well to reach the upper eshilons of the table after a tough start and having beaten Brentford 4-1 over the festive period the bees were determined to exact some revenge on their League One promotion rivals.
A huge crowd turned out at Griffin Park on a cold evening to watch the bees record a fifth straight win. An entertaining game was opened up by an own goal midway through the half and Brentford completed the victory with a second goal ten minutes from the break through Marcus Gayle.
With the club on a high due to their League exploits it was time to put promotion on the back burner as Brentford faced up to Premiership Charlton in the FA Cup fifth round. Sadly for the bees it wasnt to be and not even the presence of Chris Swatton, Brentford compeition winner, in the touchline was enough to help them past top flight opposition for the second time in two rounds.
Just like the year previous when Southampton came away from a fifth round FA Cup tie the Addicks claimed a 3-1 victory over the Griffin Park outfit with goals from Darren Bent, Jay Bothroyd and Brian Hughes. Brentford fans were not to go away unrewarded however as a goal from Isaiah Rankin was enough to salvage some pride for the club.
Martin Allen was clearly disapointed with the result but praised his players in defeat suggesting they deserved more after dominating the second half. It was back to League business however for Brentford in their next game as the Cup dream bubble burst once again.
With Allen promising that the fate which struck his club regarding the league would not happen again the boss was powerless to prevent the bees from suffering an instant cup hangover. A home defeat to Port Vale was enough to bring Brentford back to earth as the bees players, presumable exausted after another ten games in ten days stretch, struggled to cope with an energised Vale squad.
With the squad changed around a little because of the FA cup tie, over 7000 fans at Griffin Park witnessed another home defeat as Smith scored the winning goal for his team, ten minutes from time.
The final game of the month, saw Brentford taking on Doncaster in a re-arranged fixture from the Christmas period. Due to a frozen pitch the game was seemingly replayed at a good time for Brentford with the cup now out of the way and just promotion to concentrate on.
However the bees once more failed to register a goal but were satisfied leaving the Earth Stadium with one point. With both sides determined to give nothing away as they bid to ensure high finishes, the 0-0 draw was hardly a supprise.
After a tough month, it was now time for Brentford to concentrate on bringing their fans some glory and gaining the faithful promotion.