The Bees are flying high. There's no doubt about it. Just take a look at the progress, dating back to mid-September 2021. Barnet were under the reigns of Celtic and Australia legend Harry Kewell, subjected to watching football that shared no similarities to the success of the 2019 squad that were managed so well under current Southend United assistant manager Darren Currie. 

The 2019 team consists of mostly Football League players nowadays, notably Jack Taylor and Ephron Mason-Clark, who are both excelling now at Peterborough United. They were always destined for a move out of the National League, after a tremendous FA Cup run which saw them knock out Sheffield United at Bramall Lane and then take on a Brentford side with Ollie Watkins and Neal Maupay leading the lines, losing narrowly in the replay after an enthralling battle in the initial game at the Hive. 

Since then there had been Peter Beadle in charge and also Tim Flowers, and then came Kewell who last seven games before being fired, having a 0% win record, losing five, conceding 19 and only putting two points onto the board. 

Brennan takes the helm

It's safe to say Brennan had inherited a disorientated squad, indicating clearly and honestly in the post-match interviews to the fans his desire to have unity and togetherness within a squad that didn't want to play, were injury-ridden and were not good enough to make a statement in the league. 

It was painful to support Barnet last season, struggling in 18th, not scoring enough and being on the receiving end of some hammerings from some of the best sides in the league. But Brennan recuperated the side, with only nine players out of a total of 33 that were in the 2021/22 squad staying at the Hive. 

In were the likes of experienced full-back Ben Wynter, Harry Pritchard, Moussa Diarra, Dale Gorman & Nicke Kabamba. Players who wanted to be in the league competing, some had even previously worked for the Irishman in the past at his tenures at Hemel Hempstead and Wealdstone. This applied to Jerome Okimo and Laurie Walker who has been a revelation to Bees fans, and has arguably been one of the best goalkeepers in the league this season. 

The Bees have collected 40 points already, ten points less than they finished with last season. They have had some impressive victories, including beating Wealdstone, Bromley and Woking, as well as taking four points off rivals Boreham Wood and losing very narrowly to League One outfit Accrington Stanley to deny them another glorious FA Cup run. 

Fans are now adoring the style of play that they see at the Hive, attendances increasing drastically in contrast to last season, where there were desolate stands, and the away fans were outnumbering the supporters frequently. 

So Dean Brennan's contract extension until June 2026 is not only thoroughly deserved for him and supposedly his coaching staff but is good news for Barnet that he isn't heading elsewhere. The future is looking bright at the Hive, and we will see what happens come May if they have the potential to finally return to the Football League.