Rasmus Ankersen insists Brentford have learned the lessons from their disastrous first couple of months of the season and are in much better shape for it.

The Bees' co-director of football, who was appointed along with Phil Giles in May , admits the summer recruitment process did not go as smoothly as it should have.

And he conceded that Marinus Dijkhuizen, who lasted only eight games in charge , was on a hiding to nothing almost from the start.

New permanent head coach Dean Smith took over this week, and Ankersen says the former Walsall boss if inheriting a side in a much healthier state.

Difficult circumstances: Marinus Dijkhuizen

He said: “Sometimes it was like throwing darts in the dark because we were not there. We needed to rebuild the club from a distance.

“It was never going to be easy for Marinus. If he had come in now, he would have had a better chance of being successful.

“Four months into the season we have a much more precise idea about what's good, what challenges we will face and how to overcome them.

“I've been able to brief Dean pretty well on the staff he will be using, which makes a big difference to Phil and myself and to Dean and Richard (O'Kelly, Smith's assistant).”

Impressive: Dean Smith

Ankersen also made clear what stood out about Smith to make him the outstanding candidate to be Dijkhuizen's long term replacement.

He added: “We were really impressed with Dean's leadership skills. He is a man of integrity and a good people person, which takes emotional intelligence.

“The style of people he introduced at Walsall really impressed us as well. We were never going to pick someone who is parking the bus.

“But we don't assume we know it all already either, and I'm sure we can learn a lot from Dean and Richard too.”