Is Dean Smith the right man to galvanise Brentford and realise their Premier League dream?

Brentford have appointed former Walsall boss Dean Smith as their new head coach, but is he the right man to bring the club together and lead them to the Premier League? Lyall Thomas, who has reported on Brentford for several years, investigates...

On the face of it, Dean Smith is not unlike the man who left Brentford eight months ago; Mark Warburton.

Like Warburton, Smith is considered one of the best English coaches in the game and is known for his ability to galvanise people; both players and coaches.

Like Warburton, Smith worked his way through the coaching ranks from youth setup to first-team, stabilising Walsall and pushing them towards promotion to the Championship over a successful six-year spell.

Unlike Warburton, though, he is prepared to work within the new management and coaching structure that Brentford set up in the summer - one that devolved the powers of the football manager across a range of expert coaches instead.

What is crucial is that Smith is nothing like Marinus Dijkhuizen, the man who succeeded Warburton and was sacked after eight games, having been unable to bring these experts together in harmony. It was to the detriment of the team and their performances on the pitch, and swiftly cost him his job.

So can Smith succeed where the Dutchman failed?

Two important things have changed since Dijkhuizen was in charge. Firstly, interim boss Lee Carsley has improved relations between the first-team coaches, of which there are many, as well as the atmosphere among the players, which has inevitably improved performances on the pitch.

Smith simply has to continue this harmony and, speaking in his first press conference, he said: "If you look how the team is doing, Lee Carsley has already done it. I can walk into a place that is already working very well and it won't need a massive input from me straight away. I can concentrate on the games over the first few weeks and look over how the whole club is doing."

Brentford's hierarchy have also got to know their new coaches better. Co-sporting director Phil Giles has said they "understand the different personalities in the football department" now, and the man he shares his job with, Rasmus Ankersen, said Smith has been briefed on all of them.

Sitting alongside Smith in front of the media on Wednesday, Ankersen likened the summer restructure to "playing darts in the dark". He said: "You never know how the dynamic between people will work before you bring them together. We were not there and needed to rebuild the club from a distance. 

"We had some experiences in that respect and we have been able to brief Dean on each of the staff that he will be leading; what their strengths and weakness are, and how best use each person. We hope it will make a big difference to them."

There is no doubt Brentford have a talented squad; one that was improved upon after reaching the Championship play-offs last term. The quality for promotion is already there, so what Smith will have to do is ensure the many layers of the Bees' new hive do not come unstuck. The players must not be affected by any internal politics between staff.

But in order to do that, Smith will have to accept he does not have the same powers as those of his contemporaries at other clubs and use his skills of diplomacy and mediation to keep the system working. Whether he can succeed will depend on his humility.