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Brentford appoint Rasmus Ankersen as co-director of football

Brentford's Andre Gray
Image: Brentford's Andre Gray: Impressive this season

Ambitious Brentford have appointed the chairman of Danish league leaders FC Midtyjlland as a co-director of football as the latest step in their mission to earn Premier League status.

Rasmus Ankersen will share duties with fellow incoming co-director of football Phil Giles, who is head of quantitative sports research at Smartodds, a company owned by Brentford chairman Matthew Benham.

Mark Warburton is leaving his post as manager of the Bees, despite having led them to the play-off semi-finals in their first year in the Championship, as the club puts a new structure in place.

Brentford lost to Middlesbrough over two legs, missing out on a Wembley play-off final.

The London club said in a statement that Ankersen and Giles will be responsible for bringing in players and staff, and searching for a new head coach.

Benham said: "When changes to the football department were first announced, we were very clear that we wanted Brentford to be a club that could reach the Premier League and stay there.

"We believe this can only be achieved sustainably with an innovative approach to player recruitment and the overall management of the club. Rasmus and Phil can help us achieve our aim.

"The director of football role is a big one and splitting it means we can add the expertise of both of them to our management structure."

New arrival Giles said: "Brentford aspire to, and will, I hope, become known as one of the most innovative and forward-thinking clubs in Europe and it is fantastic to be asked to contribute to the achievement of that ambition."

Ankersen added: "I am convinced that this is the start of a journey to something special at Brentford Football Club. It is an honour for me to be asked to play a role in Brentford's bright future."

Benham also owns FC Midtyjlland, and Ankersen will split his duties between the Danish champions elect and the English Championship side.

"I have worked with Rasmus at FC Midtyjlland and many of the methods we will be using at Brentford are already showing much promise there," Benham said.

"Phil is someone who has excellent football knowledge and the analytical skills to assess players, tactics and teams in the way we want to."

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