Queens Park Rangers boss Mark Warburton has admitted that working with Brentford owner Matthew Benham has helped him understand different things in his career.
The Bees chief has worked wonders at Griffin Park since he took over, with an emphasis on using different analytics in the game, particularly when it comes to recruitment. And, Warburton knows all about that, having worked as an assistant manager, sporting director and then the head coach for Brentford earlier in his career.
With the 57-year-old having taken an unusual route into the game himself, Warburton was previously a city trader, he was willing to listen to these new ideas and he explained to Sky Sports how Benham’s process gave him a different view on things.
“I learned a lot from Matthew in terms of probability and the likelihood of scoring from key areas. You learn about the impact of probability and about the movement of the ball, which the clever players do.
“I have huge respect for his knowledge and his area of expertise. He’ll always ask what do you do when you are 1-0 up with five minutes to go? The worst thing you can do is try and take it into the corner, mathematically. You can’t ignore those numbers. I learned an awful lot having the pleasure of working alongside him and with him.”
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The duo had a fallout which eventually led to Warburton’s departure, even though he had taken Brentford to the play-offs before stepping aside. After spells with Rangers and Nottingham Forest, Warburton was back in the capital for the start of this season after the R’s named him as the man to succeed Steve McClaren.
And, he has enjoyed a reasonably positive campaign, with QPR currently six points away from the play-off places and he has built a vibrant, attacking team, with only West Brom and Brentford scoring more goals than the Hoops this season.
