Kevin Schade’s hat-trick did the damage as Leicester's first-team coach Ben Dawson led a sorry performance in front of the incoming boss while Thomas Frank’s men delivered another goal-laden display.

Facundo Buonanotte gave Leicester fans hope of a new beginning as he put the visitors ahead after 21 minutes, but Yoane Wissa ensured the joy did not last for long, equalising four minutes later.

Schade then put the hosts ahead soon after before grabbing his second just before half-time, poking home from a tight angle.

He completed his hat-trick just before the hour, striding onto Nathan Collins's curling ball in behind before slotting past Mads Hermansen to put the Bees in control.

It moves Brentford up to seventh, just two points off the UEFA Champions League spots, while Leicester remains 16th.

Conor Coady admitted Leicester is "in a bad place" after the defeat, which saw it end the say perilously close to the relegation zone.

The ex-Wolves man said: "We weren't good enough. We're conceding too many goals and not creating enough chances.

"We're in a bad place but only us can get ourselves together. We're in a dark place at the moment. We've got to pull ourselves through it and look at ourselves in the mirror."

Coady hopes the arrival of Van Nistelrooy can lead to a revival in the Foxes' fortunes.

He added: "We're looking forward to it. Having a new manager come in and show us where we need to get better. We've been here before and we have a responsibility to try to get better."

Brentford boss Thomas Frank spoke of his delight in Schade's performance, as the forward became the fourth German to score a hat-trick in the Premier League, after Jurgen Klinsmann, Fredi Bobic and Andre Schurrle.

"Three goals and an assist, it's a dream number for any offensive player," Frank said.

"I'm so, so happy for him because he's another young man that wants to do the best he can to perform. He's had the injury last season, started the season well, and now everything he hit today went in."