Brentford have announced the appointment of Thomas Frank as new head coach following the departure of Dean Smith to Aston Villa.

Frank, 45, arrived at Griffin Park as part of Smith’s backroom in December 2016, and steps up from his role as assistant head coach.

Brentford co-director of football Phil Giles said on the club’s official website: “Promoting Thomas to head coach ensures that we can keep building on the foundations that are already in place and working.”

Danish coach Frank, the former Brondby boss, will have his first game in charge for the Sky Bet Championship match against Bristol City at Griffin Park on Saturday.

The Bees are currently seventh in the table, just one point from the play-off places.

Brentford confirmed the club will be recruiting for the assistant head coach role in the coming days, with personal development coach Lars Friis set to work alongside Frank in the short-term.

Following the progress made under Smith in recent seasons, Giles believes there was no need for a radical overhaul behind the scenes.

“Ras (Rasmus Ankersen, co-director of football) and I have used Dean’s departure as a chance to pause and review what we need to add to the coaching staff to keep moving forward,” he said.

“We feel the club is in a good place and we don’t think it is time for big changes.”

Ankersen is confident Frank is ready for the challenges ahead.

“Thomas knows the club’s strategy inside out and he is both respected and supported by players and staff at the training ground,” Brentford’s co-director of football said.

“He has played a major role in the development of our style of play over the past couple of years and we believe he is ready for the job as head coach.”