It seems Lee Carsley appears one of the most reluctant head coaches to have taken charge of Brentford, despite agreeing to take on the post until the end of the season.

The 41-year-old former Everton midfielder took charge of his first game on Tuesdsay, 25 hours after predecessor Marinus Dijkhuizen had been given the boot.

His spell in charge got off to the worst possible start thanks to a 2-0 Championship defeat to Birmingham City, which featured a 70th minute header from Michael Morrison and an injury time strike from ex-Bee Clayton Donaldson.

Bees keeper David Button made one class stop in the first half, while Lasse Vibe stung the fingers of Blues stopper Tomasz Kuszczak in the second half with Alan Judge also rattling the bar after the visitors had taken the lead.

Brentford did not lack for effort, but they were short of some incision in the final third and an absence of genuine pace was a cause for concern.

Carsley is reluctant to entertain the idea of remaining at the club beyond the end of the season and the former development squad manager admitted his strengths do not lie in coaching the first team.

In fact, he may as well have said the top job at Brentford was a fantastic job - for someone else.

“It has been a bit hectic. On Sunday I played in an Over 35s team in Birmingham and 24 hours later I was a football manager,” said the head coach, who is unlikely to return to coaching the club's development squad when his spell in the top job is over.

“I didn’t ask to be a football manager. I’m a coach and love coaching.

“I’m still involved with the England U19s. I see the development side as a big strength of mine.

“When I first retired my first thought was I want to be a coach. I want to coach U21s and U18s teams. That is where my strengths lie.

“It just so happens the last two clubs I’ve been at I have ended up as caretaker manager and there are probably 90 other managers who are caretaker managers.”

He added: “I’ll take it a game at a time. It’s important you know your strengths as a person.

“That burning ambition you hear other managers – who used to be players - say they have, to replace the feeling you have on a Saturday afternoon. I don’t have that. I had that as a player for 20 years.

“This is a privileged position especially at a club like this, with its ambition and the direction it is going in. This is a fantastic job for someone.”