Bees full-back Ryan Dickson’s flying return to the starting line-up maybe down to a single-minded approach to rehab, but he believes he is still short of his best.

The 21-year-old starred in Tuesday night’s 1-0 triumph at Luton Town earning praise from boss Andy Scott and keeper Ben Hamer - who described his attacking play as ‘frightening’ - for his all action display.

The former Plymouth Argyle midfielder has finally shrugged off the effects of a long-standing back injury that left him sidelined for the first three months of the campaign.

The problem had gone untreated last season, but intense physiotherapy in the summer has seen him return to help inspire a four match unbeaten run that sees Brentford in the League Two promotion hunt.

But Dickson, who had to strengthen the muscles in his back to counteract an imbalance caused by an old fracture, reckons there is room for improvement.

“It is never easy being out injured. You have to put the football side of things out of your mind. You need to focus on yourself and not think how the team are doing,” he said.

“Luton was only the fourth 90 minutes I’ve played this season. Considering I missed all pre-season, I’d say I’m still playing catch-up.

“I’m pretty fit anyway, it is just a case of picking up match fitness and that is coming all the time.

“Having not played a full game in such a long time the last five minutes of games is where you feel it, but on Tuesday I still felt fresh. It is coming together.”

Brentford have not lost since back-to-back defeats to Chester City and Rochdale forced Scott into a re-think over his side’s tactical approach.

The recent run has brought eight goals and two cleansheets with an emphasis on becoming hard to beat following the October dip in form.

“The way we lost at Chester was alarming. Maybe we got a bit carried away with the run we were on, but it was a kick up the backside and it made me think about the team and the way we play,“ added Scott.

“We’ve simplified things. We are a little bit more solid, a little bit more organised and harder to break down, so we can stay in games longer.

“Players have the licence to get forward at the right times, but we first have to make sure we are organised before we do that. That is coming as the players mature.”

And it is the attacking side of the game that brings the best out of Dickson - who almost got on the scoresheet at Kenilworth Road.

“While I’ve always played left back, I was used as an attacking midfielder at Plymouth and Torquay,” he said.

“I like to go forward and I’ve got a few tricks up my sleeve. Sometimes it comes off, sometimes it doesn’t.”