Brentford have confirmed the appointment of Dean Smith as their new manager. He departs League One Walsall, leaving them inside the play-off places. Lee Carsley will remain in charge for tonight’s trip to Bolton Wanderers.
In addition to the appointment of Smith, he will be assisted by Richard O’Kelly, who also moves from Brentford in taking up a new role at Griffin Park. Co-Director of Football, Rasmus Ankersen, who oversaw the whole process of picking the long-term successor to Marinus Dijkhuizen, believes that Smith can guide Brentford into the Premier League,
“We believe Dean is exactly the authentic and strong leader we need to take Brentford forward and ultimately into the Premier League.
We have been hugely impressed by Dean’s work at Walsall and especially how he has managed to turn a club with such a low budget into one pushing for promotion.
It is a similar challenge to the one Brentford face. We can’t win by spending more money than our competitors so we have to identify competitive edges which will allow us to compete with clubs who enjoy much bigger budgets.
In that respect Dean is a great fit to Brentford FC. The job is not just about being an experienced and intelligent football coach. More than anything, it is about being able to lead the staff and bring the best out of highly qualified experts as well as the players.”
A statement on the official club website also revealed that Carsley will leave the club at the end of December. He will be staying as ‘part of the transition process’, so will help Smith get used to the group of players he has now inherited.
Compensation for the pair has been agreed, although it remains to be seen how long Smith and O’Kelly have been initially assigned to the club, in relation to lengthy of contract. One thing that is for certain is that they’ll be watching tonight’s game at Bolton, and shall take charge of their first game when entertaining MK Dons at Griffin Park this weekend.
As for Walsall, their process to appoint a new manager begins immediately, although John Ward, Jon Whitney and Neil Cutler will take over on a temporary basis at Bescot Stadium.
