Now he has the chance to go one better and take Brentford into the Premier League for the first time, using last year's failure as a catalyst.

"I think it has definitely been the fuel throughout the season and the players have used it brilliantly," he said when asked if the loss to Fulham can be used to harness positive energy.

"We have spoken about how fantastic our season has been and now it is the cup tournament of the season, it is still a fuel but also an experience that, even if you do everything perfect, you can still lose a match.

"We need to go into the match with that burning desire. Leave everything out there. Be brave. Do what we normally do.

"It is not like an exam where you do well and get your A+ because there a lot of things things can affect it.

"Even if we perform to A+ we are not actually sure we will get the outcome we want but we are ready, we will attack and know we're going to play against good teams and a good team in Bournemouth who have done fantastic and then it will be down to the fine, fine margins in the second leg."

It is not only recent history which is against Brentford as they have been unsuccessful in all of their previous nine play-off attempts.

But Frank, who also revealed full-back Rico Henry is in contention following a hamstring injury, will not be letting his players get too caught up in any suggestions of play-off curses.

"I think I read the stats the other day, nine play-offs, four finals and without achieving a win in any of them – that is an amazing stat," he added.

"I think that is history. For us, it is not going into our head. We know it is the modern world and there is not a voodoo curse over Brentford that we can't get out of and get a positive result.

"I have no doubt that we have more experience and will be in a better place, will that help us enough to win? Maybe.

"Maybe in the tight moments but there are a lot of other margins that are not about experience but I definitely think we are in a good place going into the semi-finals."