Brentford staff profiles
PEN pics of Brentford's coaching, science, medicine and analytics staff. To see staff profiles for other clubs, click here.
FOOTBALL EXECUTIVE
DIRECTOR OF FOOTBALL
Philip Giles
Nationality: English
Was Head of Quantitative Sports Research for Smartodds, owned by Benham, before being appointed to his current role at Brentford in 2015. Appeared on Episode #35 of the TGG Podcast.
TECHNICAL DIRECTOR
Lee Dykes
Nationality: English
Reports into Giles and responsible for recruitment, analysis, data, technology and player pathways. Joined Brentford in 2019 as Head of Recruitment and was promoted to current role in June 2022.
COACHING
HEAD COACH
Thomas Frank
Nationality: Danish
Led Brondby to top-four finishes in successive seasons before joining Brentford as Assistant Head Coach in December 2016. Took the top job in October 2018, succeeding Dean Smith, and achieved coveted promotion to the Premier League in 2020/21. Kept them up the following season.
ASSISTANT
Claus Nørgaard
Nationality: Danish
Replaced compatriot Brian Riemer as assistant in December 2022. Joined from the Danish FA, where he was U18s Head Coach. Worked alongside Frank with Denmark’s youth teams and also at Brøndby for three years. Was Head Coach at SønderjyskE in the Danish top tier for almost two years and also had a spell in charge at Esbjerg.
FIRST-TEAM COACH
Justin Cochrane
Nationality: English
Joined in June 2022 for his first permanent role in first-team football. Previously Head of player Development and Coaching at Manchester United’s Academy and a youth coach for the Football Association, leading England’s U15s, 16s and 17s. From 2009 to 2018 he worked at Tottenham, latterly as Assistant Head of Player and Coach Development, where Chris Ramsey was a key mentor.
FIRST-TEAM COACH
Kevin O'Connor
Nationality: English
Made 501 appearances for the Bees in a one-club playing career spanning 15 years. Took a player-coach role with the club in 2014 before becoming B Team Head Coach in 2016 and then First Team Assistant Head Coach two years later.
GOALKEEPER COACH
Manu Sotelo
Nationality: Spanish
Was a coach at several clubs in his homeland before joining Aitor Karanka at Nottingham Forest in 2018/19. Was with Al Ahli in Doha ahead of move to Brentford in August 2020.
PERFORMANCE
DIRECTOR OF ELITE PERFORMANCE
Ben Ryan
Nationality: English
A lifelong Brentford fan who was appointed to the role in June 2022. Best known as a Rugby Sevens coach. Worked with England for seven years before leading Fiji to their first ever Olympic gold medal, at Rio 2016. Role is to “lead all aspects of player and staff performance and development” outside of technical and tactical football matters.
HEAD OF PERFORMANCE
Chris Haslam
Nationality: English
Returned to Brentford for a second spell in 2016 as Head of Academy Sport Science. Promoted to First Team Head of Performance a year later.
SPORT SCIENTIST
Matthew King
Nationality:
Joined in 2014 as a Sport Scientist after three years as an analyst at Exeter City.
STRENGTH & CONDITIONING
Tom Perryman
Nationality: English
Long-standing member of staff who manages strength and conditioning programmes in the gym and on the training pitch.
CONSULTANT SLEEP COACH
Anna West
Nationality: Danish
Has worked with the Bees since 2016, with Haslam declaring: “Besides training, I truly believe quality sleep is the biggest fundamental tool a player can use to reach peak performance on a daily basis.” Delivered an excellent presentation at TGG's Recovery Webinar in April 2021.
CONSULTANT PSYCHOLOGIST
Michael Caulfield
Nationality: English
One of the UK’s leading Sport Psychologists, having been in pro sport for more than 25 years. Has worked alongside managers including Gareth Southgate, Steve Bruce and Mick Phelan, and with Dean Smith and Thomas Frank at Brentford. Also delivered an excellent session at TGG's Recovery Webinar - on mental recovery.
MEDICAL
HEAD OF MEDICAL
Neil Greig
Nationality: English
Worked at Watford for more than four years before joining Brentford in 2010. One of the longest-serving members of staff at the club.
SENIOR PHYSIO
Nick Stubbings
Nationality: English
Joined in July 2014 from Charlton and worked with the Academy and B team before moving up to the first team in 2018.
DATA & ANALYSIS
HEAD OF DATA & TECHNOLOGY
Luke Stopforth
Nationality: English
Joined in June 2011 as first-team Performance Analyst. Stepped into the lead role in 2015 and took up this new role this summer.
HEAD OF ANALYSIS
Josh Kirk
Nationality: English
Appointed in September 2021 after three years as first-team performance analyst at Sheffield United. Responsible for ensuring that the coaching team have access to world-class opposition analysis as well as providing input to the assistant coaches during live games.
TACTICAL STATISTICIAN
Bernardo Cueva
Nationality: Mexican
Appointed to this unique role in September 2020, having previously been Strategic Analysis Manager at Club Deportivo Guadalajara (known as Guadalajara or Chivas. He is responsible for measuring the style of play and is also involved with set pieces.
ANALYST
Joe Newton
Nationality: English
Arrived in September 2019 from New Saints.
ASSISTANT ANALYST
Jack Wilson
Nationality: Scottish
With the club since September 2020, having previously worked for the Irish FA, Hearts and Dundee United.
