There was one bright spot during Brentford’s humiliation at Brighton & Hove Albion last week: the return to action of Lewis Macleod.

The 21-year-old climbed off the bench to make his Bees debut nearly 13 months after signing for the club from Glasgow Rangers in the 2015 January transfer window.

Macleod, an unused substitute in Brentford’s 2-1 Championship play-off first leg defeat to Middlesbrough last season, has been sidelined by a succession of hamstring and ankle problems.

But he finally put the frustration behind him to play the last eight minutes at the Amex stadium – although he admitted his performance was little to write home about.

“I’m happy to be back, but it would be much better if we had won the game. We are a lot better than that,” he said.

“I could have been better, but I’m just glad to be back on the pitch. It has been a long 13 months.

“Hopefully, it is a small step and in the coming weeks there will be a lot more to come.

“I’m nowhere near as fully fit as I can be. It is going to take me a while to get back to where I was before I signed.”

Back-in-favour midfielder Sam Saunders signed a one-year contract extension last week to end speculation over a possible move to Major League Soccer in north America.

“My career has been a rollercoaster,” he added.

“It is nice to have been given the chance to be involved in the team again and there is more to come.

“I’ve only played a few games over the past two years, so playing week in, week out is a shock.

“If you work hard and believe in yourself, you can take the opportunities you are given.”

Brentford go to Sheffield Wednesday tomorrow.