Brentford refuse to back manager Mark Warburton beyond the end of the season after reports linking him with summer sacking
Warburton has overseen promotion from League One and an unlikely Championship title challenge but could be replaced regardless by Spaniard
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Your support makes all the difference.Brentford have released a statement in response to a newspaper report that manager Mark Warburton is set to be sacked at the end of the season regardless of whether or not he leads the Championship club to Premier League promotion.
The Times reported on Tuesday that Warburton, who is on a rolling 12-month contract, will not have his deal renewed at the end of the campaign. The revelations came as a huge surprise, given that Warburton guided the Bees to promotion from League One last season, and his side currently sit in an impressive fourth position in the Championship, just five points behind leaders Bournemouth.
Having seen his stock rise significantly since taking the reins at Griffin Park in December 2013 following Uwe Rösler’s departure, Warburton would have been one of the safest names currently managing in the second tier, but that doesn’t appear to be the case.
While the club have issued an official statement to address the rumours, they have hardly instilled a belief that Warburton will be at the helm beyond the end of the season. Towards the end of the statement, the club say “Brentford FC do want to confirm that Mark Warburton remains our manager…Mark will continue to lead the club in its push for Premier League football,” which suggests that his future beyond the summer remains very much in doubt.
The statement reads: “The Club is aware of some press speculation about the future of our Manager, Mark Warburton.
“Given Mark’s increasing profile within the game, we recognise that he will deservedly have turned the heads of other clubs.
“As with every other sensibly run club, we plan for various possible eventualities.
“We are a progressive club who do talk to other people within the game to learn about other ways of doing things, and to consider novel strategic approaches to the game.
“Those conversations continue internally, and are part of a healthy dialogue.
“Football is sometimes called a village, and in any village, gossip and rumours can spread like wildfire, whether or not such rumours are true.
“It would not be in the Club’s interests to disclose any of those discussions, but Brentford FC do want to confirm that Mark Warburton remains our manager.
“The team’s performance has been magnificent this season and that is primarily down to Mark’s leadership.
“Mark will continue to lead the club in its push for Premier League football.
“At this critical stage of the season, we don’t propose to make any further statements in relation to these rumours.”
In The Times’ exclusive, they revealed that current Rayo Vallecano manager Paco Jemez is believed to have been contacted by the club with a view to taking over for the new season, with the club’s owner Matthew Benham reported to be seeking a different direction for the club. However, what does appear to be clear is that 52-year-old Warburton will be in charge of the club until the end of the season at least.
Jemez is also reported to be out of contract in the summer, which would pave the way for a switch to London to manager the Bees.
Attentions will turn back to their push for promotion later tonight, when play-off rivals Watford visit Griffin Park.
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