After two strong pushes for promotion from the Third Division, Brentford manager Malky MacDonald conducted little transfer business in the 1959 off-season, with his main signing being that of former Chelsea centre half Bill Livingstone as cover for the injured Ian Dargie.

[1] However, two youngsters MacDonald signed from Scotland in June and July 1959 between them would go on to make nearly 700 appearances for the club – Tommy Higginson and John Docherty.

[1] As a testament how little the squad had changed over the previous three years, by the end of the season MacDonald had 12 players on the books who had all made over 100 appearances for Brentford – Cakebread, Wilson, Horne, Coote, Bristow, Goundry, Dargie, Parsons, Heath, Rainford, Francis and Towers.

[3] With the Brentford's so-so league form, the FA Cup looked to be the focus of the Bees' efforts, but they met their end in the following round versus Fourth Division club Exeter City.

[3] Brentford welcomed the 1960s with a 2–0 defeat to the eventual-promoted side Southampton at The Dell on 2 January 1960 and continued to muddle through to March, when a 1–0 victory over Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic on the 5th of the month kicked off a strong run which would last until the end of the season.