During the 1978–79 English football season, Brentford competed in the Football League Third Division. After a rude awakening to third-tier football, the Bees ended the season strongly to finish in 10th position.
Fears that Brentford's largely-unchanged squad would be out of its depth in the Third Division were heightened after the season began with a 7–1 aggregate defeat to fellow third-tier side Watford in the first round of the League Cup.[2] A dire start to the league season, which had seen Brentford sink into the relegation places by the end of September 1978,[5] led manager Bill Dodgin Jr. to act in the transfer market.[2] Potentially club-record breaking bids for Watford's Alan Mayes, Queens Park Rangers' Tony Hazell and Bristol City's John Bain were all rejected.[2] Dodgin managed to sign defenderJim McNichol from Luton Town for a new club-record incoming fee of £30,000.[2] While McNichol went on to be voted the Brentford Supporters' Player of the Year,[6] Dodgin's other signing, forward Dean Smith (signed to support the misfiring Steve Phillips and Andrew McCulloch), only scored sporadically during the remainder of the season.[7]
Between late-October 1978 and mid-March 1979, the Bees stabilised with a run of just two defeats in 17 league matches.[5] The run ended with the club's biggest win of the season – a 6–0 thrashing of Chester at Griffin Park, with Steve Phillips scoring a hat-trick to boost his tally to six goals in four matches.[7] The signing of Jim McNichol made an immediate impact on the defensive line, with a record of two clean sheets prior to his arrival being turned around to 14 in the following 31 matches, equivalent to a clean sheet nearly every other match.[8] A failure to win any of the following four matches dropped the Bees back to 18th position, but a strong run of 9 wins in 12 matches to close out the season elevated the club to a 10th-place finish.[5]
^"Kings of the Castle: Steve Phillips". www.brentfordfc.com. Retrieved 15 August 2022.
^"They played for both: Bristol City". Brentford FC. Retrieved 9 July 2017.
^ a b c"Brentford results for the 1978–1979 season". Statto.com. Archived from the original on 13 September 2016. Retrieved 12 February 2017.
^ a b cCroxford, Lane & Waterman, p. 295.
^ a b c d eWhite, Eric, ed. (1989). 100 Years Of Brentford. Brentford FC. p. 395. ISBN0951526200.
^"Kings of the Castle: Jim McNichol". www.brentfordfc.com. Retrieved 10 January 2023.
^Croxford, Lane & Waterman, p. 158-169.
^Croxford, Lane & Waterman, p. 314.
^Croxford, Mark; Lane, David; Waterman, Greville (2011). The Big Brentford Book of the Seventies. Sunbury, Middlesex: Legends Publishing. ISBN978-1906796709.
^Haynes, Graham; Coumbe, Frank (2006). Timeless Bees: Brentford F.C. Who's Who 1920–2006. Yore Publications. ISBN978-0955294914.
^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o pCroxford, Lane & Waterman, p. 190-194.