As the next stage in the recently announced changes to the football management at Brentford Football Club, Rasmus Ankersen and Phil Giles have been appointed as Co-Directors of Football.

Rasmus and Phil will oversee the football side of the Club and will be responsible for managing the recruitment of new players and staff, including the ongoing process to appoint a new Head Coach.

They will work with Brentford FC Owner Matthew Benham, the Board and new Head Coach in the quest to ensure football success and a sustainable future for The Bees.

Matthew 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.”

Rasmus Ankersen said: “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.”

Phil Giles said: “I was delighted to be asked to take on this role.

“Matthew and the Board of Directors have spoken about their vision for the future and it is a very exciting prospect.

“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.”

Rasmus is Chairman of FC Midtjylland (FCM), the current Danish Superliga leaders who are also owned by Matthew Benham.

Rasmus will retain his position at FCM, as well as his new role at Griffin Park and he will continue to oversee FCM’s challenge for the Danish Superliga title which currently sees them nine points clear with five games remaining.

He will work with Phil and the Brentford staff to maximise the sharing of useful ideas and innovations between the two clubs.

Rasmus has written several books about talent and performance development and is probably best known for his book

in which he shares his experiences from having lived and trained with the world’s best athletes for six months.

Phil has worked at Smartodds – a company owned by Matthew Benham which provides statistical sports modelling services – for eight years and has been their Head of Quantitative Sports Research since 2010.

Matthew added: “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.

“We have always spoken about sharing knowledge between Brentford and FCM, and whilst the clubs will continue to operate separately, we hope to improve that sharing process.

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

“Rasmus and Phil will work with our new Head Coach to ensure we can get the best Brentford squad possible.”

Cliff Crown, Brentford FC Chairman, said: “The Board have been working very closely with Matthew on the new structure over the past few months.

“We believe these changes will be in the long-term interest of Brentford Football Club.

“Rasmus and Phil have embraced the innovative way we want to work.

“We are delighted to be able to confirm their positions.

“Brentford are not in a position to buy instant success, but I believe that these appointments will prove to be key to our ongoing process of building for the future success and sustainability of the club.

“I would like to thank Brentford fans for their patience over the past few months and whilst our excellent 2014/15 season is unfortunately over we must now look forward to 2015/16 and hope to make it even better.”