Lee Carsley has left Brentford just a fortnight after stepping down from his position as interim manager of the club.

The 41-year-old spent two months in charge of the Bees' senior squad following the departure of Marinus Dijkhuizen at the end of September.

Carsley will not be returning to his former position as Under-21s boss, however, after deciding to depart the West London outfit on the back of talks with co-directors Phil Giles and Rasmus Ankersen.

Speaking to Brentford's official website, Ankersen said: "His work ensured we were able to take our time and find the right head coach to lead the club forward, and he has passed on his knowledge of the players and staff to Dean. When Lee suggested his work at the club was done, we were happy to let him go.

"He has done a great job and will always be on the end of the phone if anyone here needs anything. He can spend Christmas with his family and take some time away from the day-to-day rigours of football. We were pleased we could give him this extra time and he goes with our best wishes."

During his time in charge, Carsley won five and drew 10 of his matches to take Brentford from relegation trouble to the brink of the playoff zone.

Giles added: "I would reiterate Rasmus's words and add my own thanks to Lee for the job he has done. The Training Ground environment is now a very good one and Lee deserves a lot of praise for that. He also got us some great results while head coach, including the QPR game, which I am sure our fans won't forget.

"The decision for him to leave now was taken quickly during a conversation at the Training Ground yesterday but the reasoning was sound and all parties agreed it was the right thing to do. Lee was always be welcome at Griffin Park or Jersey Road and I am sure he will have a long and bright future in coaching ahead of him."

Ex-Walsall chief Dean Smith was appointed as permanent manager at the end of November, tasked with building on Carsley's work to earn a top-six finish at Griffin Park.