Brentford have announced their new head coach following the departure of Thomas Frank
Brentford have confirmed that former Republic of Ireland international Keith Andrews has been promoted to replace Thomas Frank as head coach.
Frank has joined Tottenham Hotspur after Ange Postecoglou was sacked in the wake of a season in which he won the Europa League but led the team to a 17th-placed finish. Brentford considered an external hire such as Ipswich Town’s Kieran McKenna, but Andrews quickly emerged as the preferred candidate. Andrews initially joined Frank’s backroom staff and has no senior management experience.
Nevertheless, director of football Phil Giles says he is a ‘very good fit’ for the club moving forward. Brentford are one of Sunderland’s earliest opponents in the Premier League next season, set to visit the Stadium of Light in the third weekend of the campaign (August 30th).
“Keith is a very good fit,” Giles said.
“He gets on with everyone, he’s very open and he’s a learner. Keith is clear in what he wants, he’s detailed, and the players and staff like and respect him. He understands the players in the building and the way we’ve played and trained under Thomas Frank. Keith will bring his own evolution but isn’t starting from scratch, so hopefully we can make some quick progress.
“He’s a very good coach and has clear ideas about how he wants the team to improve. We were looking for somebody not just to maintain what we’ve been doing but actually try and get better.”
Andrews will have to put a new coaching staff in place, with Frank joined at Spurs by assistant first-team coach Justin Cochrane, head of athletic performance Chris Haslam and first-team analyst Joe Newton.
“There’s been a lot of work going into what the team around Keith looks like,” Giles said.
“How do we take what we had last year and get better? That process is ongoing. We have to look at the blend of skills and experience. It’s an exciting project to have these roles open together. We’ll build it over time and learn about strengths and weaknesses. We’ll build it step by step and get the right balance.”
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Brentford’s summer transfer business so far
It has already been a busy summer window for Brentford. After goalkeeper Mark Flekken’s departure for Bayer Leverkusen, Caoimhin Kelleher has joined from Liverpool. They have also made defender Michael Kayode’s loan from Fiorentina permanent, and signed Birmingham City youngster Romelle Donovan.
They look set to lose two key players in the coming weeks, however. Christian Norgaard is in advanced negotiations with Arsenal, while Manchester United are expected to sign forward Bryan Mbeumo.
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