Brentford defender Harlee Dean reckons the respect former Premier League outfit Fulham gave his side on Tuesday is a sign the Bees are in the Championship to stay.

The Cottagers grabbed a 1-0 Capital One Cup triumph over their west London rivals at Griffin Park thanks to a second half strike from £11million striker Ross McCormack.

Boss Mark Warburton's men threatened but their best moments came through Spaniard Jota, who forced a sharp save from Fulham keeper Marcus Bettinelli and hit the post at the end of the first half.

And Dean reckoned Brentford's lack of clear cut chances was largely because Felix Magath's side came to frustrate them.

"Fulham came here and sat behind the ball and tried to play us on the counter," he said.

"That is testament to how good we are at home and our attacking style of football.

"Teams are going to come here and try and break at us. We have to be clever and break through them and make sure we are a bit more compact on the counter attack.

"It is a learning curve. It is a cup game. Unfortunately we couldn't get the win, but we gave a good account of ourselves."