Lee Carsley admits that he did not feel prepared to take on the role as Brentford’s permanent manager following the appointment of Dean Smith.
Advertisement
It left Carsley with a record of five wins, two draws and three losses along with a manager of the month gong, but while his appetite has been whetted somewhat by life in the hotseat, the 41-year-old is happy to step away from the spotlight now Smith has arrived. He guided them to their first-ever trip to Wembley, before losing 2-0 to Bristol City in the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy last season, and Walsall are now fourth in the third tier.
Brentford’s Co-Director of Football Rasmus Ankersen was quoted on the club’s official website as saying that Smith was seen as an “authentic and strong leader” who could take the Bees “ultimately into the Premier League”.
Shola Ameobi fired just over for Bolton before Amos denied Lasse Vibe and Swift – the Brentford goalscorer subsequently booked for going down under the challenge of Josh Vela in the box. 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”.
“I just didn’t think I was ready for it”, Carsley told Sky Sports when asked why he didn’t take the job himself after an impressive stint at the helm.
It has also been made clear to Smith that he will have to bring the best out of the current playing squad as well as the club’s extensive backroom staff of “highly qualified experts”.
Walsall chairman Jeff Bonser added: “We are disappointed to lose Dean”.
Advertisement
“We’re all convinced they can build on the excellent work Lee put in on the training ground and in terms of results”.
