Brentford sack Marinus Dijkhuizen and promote Lee Carsley as head coach

He was something of a controversial appointment in the summer when replacing the popular Mark Warburton following a restructure of the Club’s management.

Brentford have appointed former Coventry City defender Lee Carsley as their head coach for the rest of the season.

This news comes after an initially impressive summer in the transfer window, as many fans tipped Brentford to be among the promotion favourites as they turned to the stats-based ‘Moneyball’ approach utilised to great success by owner Matthew Benham with Danish side FC Mitdjylland.

Dijkhuizen has admitted that he is shocked by the club’s decision to dismiss him, but he has said that he enjoyed his time at Griffin Park.

Brentford now lie nineteenth in the Championship with just two wins from eight games.

Former Republic of Ireland midfielder Carsley has been promoted to head coach and will be assisted by Paul Williams.

“The Club believes Lee deserves the opportunity to step up and help shape Brentford FC’s future on the pitch”, a statement from the club reads.

Brentford lost in cruel fashion on Saturday, beaten 2-1 by Sheffield Wednesday at Griffin Park when they conceded a last-minute victor, having fought back from a goal down despite having been reduced to 10 men.

As well as losing star striker Andre Gray to Championship rivals Burnley, the 43-year-old has seen his squad decimated by injuries, with NINE first-team players now unavailable. The side lie in 18th place after eight games.

Carsley’s first game in charge will be on Tuesday evening, when Brentford welcome Birmingham City to west London.