The Bees under rookie manager Keith Andrews are in the mix for European qualification ahead of tonight's trip to Manchester United.
Schade told the London Evening Standard: “Even before that, when Ivan Toney left, everyone said it would be difficult. But then we played even better. Maybe you can only see it from the inside, because I know all the players and what they can do. When anyone talks from the outside, you shouldn’t take it too seriously.”
Schade admits he understands why some were tipping Brentford to go down.
“Yes, of course. Because the gaffer left and the top scorers left — but they don’t see what’s behind that.
“Igor Thiago came back, we bought Dango (Ouattara), Damsy (Mikkel Damsgaard) is still here, and we had a structure. Christian Nørgaard left as a captain (to join Arsenal) but inside we knew Nathan Collins and Mathias Jensen could do the same job. And (Jordan) Henderson came.
"You can learn so much from him. When it’s not going well on the pitch, he’s the one who pushes everyone to stay calm and bring back the quality.”