Former Bees boss Scott Fitzgerald reckons managing Brentford has scarred him to such an extent he may never manage a League club in his lifetime.

The 40-year-old, now youth team manager at League One Millwall, was at the helm when the Bees plummeted into League Two, following the brief tenure of Leroy Rosenior.

His exit in 2007 paved the way for current chief Andy Scott’s return to Griffin Park as assistant to Terry Butcher, before the former Leyton Orient striker took full control of team affairs following the former England skipper’s exit nearly two years ago.

Fitzgerald was supposedly handed a poisoned challis when Rosenior was sacked with Brentford hovering just above the relegation zone on 17 points, and went on to lose 15 of his 24 games in charge as the Bees finished bottom of the pile.

He was replaced by head of youth development Barry Quin before the end of the season and he admits it is an experience he has no desire to repeat.

“Martin Allen gave me the chance to get into the coaching side of things and I really enjoyed it,” he said.

“Leroy Rosenior came in, but when he left I was asked to step in and help out.

“The thing is once you get that taste you want more, so I was happy when they asked me to carry on, but I would be a liar if I said I enjoyed the whole season.

“We did not have anywhere near the success I hoped and the job is just not that enjoyable if you are losing week in, week out.

“To be honest I was very unhappy by the end of it, and the experience has put me off managing a league club again.

“I am enjoying the youth side of things now and I suppose I should say 'never say never', but I cannot in the forseeable future ever see myself wanting to go through something like that again.”

Fitzgerald made 24 appearances for Brentford as a player under then boss Martin Allen - featuring in a 2-0 FA Cup third round win over Luton Town in the cup run that would later see the Bees bow out against Southampton in the fifth round.

And despite the way his spell in west London ended, he has fond memories of the club.

“It all came down to the manager. There was a real homely feel to the club,” he said.

“We did not have a lot of money, but the man-management skills were fantastic.

“We were a group of rejects really and nobody gave us a chance - we had to win a lot of games at the end of the season to stay up and we did it.”