BENHAM IS GAMBLING ON SET-PIECE IMPROVEMENT TO GET THE BEES BUZZING

BRENTFORD can’t win by outspending the opposition in the English Championship.

Outsmarting them can still be achieved, it is hoped, and that’s where the club’s innovative approach has brought Lewis Macleod into a key role.

Chairman Matthew Benham, professional gambler and sports statistic guru/owner of SmartOdds, was so dismayed by the club’s poor showing in 2014/15 at set-pieces — third worst in the second tier — that he hired a coach to specialise entirely in that sphere.

Gianni Vio was the first appointment to the position before Frenchman Nicolas Jover became the architect. Before Vio left for Leeds, the Bees had improved to sixth-best at set-plays and the club continues to capitalise in that area.

Yoann Barbet and Emiliano Marcondes can hit them, but Macleod is the one who possesses the delivery to craft chance after chance and is their main taker. The Scot is central to the department’s exhaustive work coming good on match day.

Macleod (right), who is playing as one of two advanced central midfielders in front of a holding man, explained: ‘A lot of time is put in, preseason especially, when we have meetings most days about it. Now it’s every second day. We talk about them, study previous games where we’ve done well with them. ‘At times, it’s a wee bit tiring doing the same things over and over again. It’s repetitive. But you need to do that to understand what your job is and what he wants us to do. ‘The ideas and routines are really good. I get the things he wants us to do and the areas he wants us to hit. ‘Emiliano and Yoann are really good at taking freekicks. I hit them and, from the corners and wide free-kicks, you learn a lot because of his outlook and the use of the statistics. ‘There’s the amount of chances you can create, not just from the initial ball but the second ball when that comes in. We’ve scored a few already. ‘Everyone is on the same wavelength. It’s hard for teams to defend against them. ‘And we’ve been working on throw-ins a lot this year, attacking from them. ‘Add set-piece goals to your game and it’s maybe another seven goals throughout the season. That could be very important. ‘This club is very forward thinking. I knew very quickly about this. It has been very educational.’