Rasmus Ankersen has called on Brentford fans to be patient as the club undergoes a rebuilding phase.
The Bees have seen their squad that was good enough for fifth place last season dismantled with only David Button, Harlee Dean, Jake Bidwell, Toumani Diagouraga, Alan Judge, James Tarkowski and Alan McCormack remaining of the regulars last season.
The club have had a turbulent start to the season with the departures of key players such as Andre Gray, Moses Odubajo, Stuart Dallas and Jonathan Douglas, injuries to Jota, Josh McEachran and Andreas Bjelland, having to rip up the pitch after two competitive games and unhappy fans from the performances served up at Griffin Park.
However, Ankersen insisted it was just the start of the project and these things don't just happen by clicking your fingers.
“There's been a lot of turnover in the squad and we knew it was going to take time to get everyone to fit together. We're working hard every day to find the concepts but it doesn't happen overnight,” he said.
“We can always improve and, at the moment, there is a lot to improve. When new players come together from different countries it's going to take time to get on the same page in terms of the tactical concept. We're seeing that process is taking a bit of time.”
Set-pieces were an area Brentford had identified as one they needed to improve, bringing in Gianni Vio from AC Milan, but the delivery against Reading at the end of August was dreadful and Ankersen wants to see improvements.
“We're trying to get the concepts right and set-pieces are a complex thing. It has to be a good delivery and it wasn't a good delivery today. Hopefully we'll do better next time,” he added.
“(The international break is) going to be a good time to work hard and we can work more on the concepts and improve more things. It's come at a good time for us and we can work on the training pitch.”
There have been sceptics of how much time is being spent on Brentford in relation to owner Matthew Benham's other club FC Midtjylland, but Ankersen, who is chairman of the Danish club, denied it had any real impact on his co-director of football job at Griffin Park.
He said: “I spend most of my time in Brentford at the start of the season because this is a more operational role.
“I talk to the Midtjylland guys every day, especially in the transfer window. It's the same philosophy that rules both clubs so I'm not doing one thing one day and then a different thing another day.”
