Gavin Cooney
STEPHEN KENNY HAS backed his former Ireland assistant Keith Andrews to excel as Brentford manager in the Premier League, and is confident Andrews will shrug off the intensity of the scrutiny coming his way, including from former Ireland boss Martin O’Neill.
Andrews was confirmed as the new Brentford boss on Friday, meaning he steps into his first managerial role in the Premier League. Andrews had previously been on Thomas Frank’s staff as the club’s set-piece coach, and the club say he is the ideal candidate to build on his predecessor’s outstanding work given he has the added benefit of knowing the squad and how the club operates.
Andrews joined Brentford a year ago following a short stint on the staff at Sheffield United, whom he joined after Kenny’s tenure with Ireland came to an end. Andrews served as Kenny’s assistant with the Irish U21s from 2019, and joined him in stepping up to the senior team.
Kenny maintains regular contact with Andrews, and had been in touch with him on Friday, though in relation to the passing of Ruaidhrí Higgins’ mother. Higgins worked alongside Kenny and Andrews on the Irish senior staff.
“I am in regular contact with Keith all the time, I am absolutely thrilled for him”, said Kenny. “It’s a great opportunity for him, he deserves it.
“He has a superb level of detail. He is a very organised guy, super professional; a very analytical coach, and very modern, \[with\] innovative ideas, so good luck to him. It’s great news.”
Andrews has already drawn the ire of former Ireland boss Martin O’Neill, with O’Neill quick to point out that Andrews had been a vocal critic of his during the final days of his Ireland reign. Prior to going into coaching with Kenny, Andrews had a high-profile media career, combining regular appearances on Sky Sports and Virgin Media with his own show on Off the Ball.
“He has been their set-piece coach,” said O’Neill of Andrews. “The irony is when I was manager of the Republic of Ireland he was a particularly vitriolic critic of mine at the time. He was really dead against me trying to use set pieces to try to win games.
“The irony is he becomes the set-piece coach. Really I say good luck to him. Brentford have decided, if it is the case, that he should get it. I hope he does get it because then he will realise what management is all about. It’s not as easy to be sitting in a pundit’s chair sitting to criticise someone who in all honesty had a much better career than he had.
“He was dealing at the bottom end of it when I was winning the European Cup. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be criticising. Everyone to their own. But it’ll be a different ball game now.”
O’Neill’s old assistant, Roy Keane, described Andrews as a “bullshitter” in a 2020 interview with showbiz journalist Barry Egan. Keane is now one of the highest-profile pundits in football, and will likely preside over some Brentford games for Sky Sports.
Asked if he was confident that Andrews will deal with scrutiny and criticism like that of O’Neill’s, Kenny replied, “Keith is well able to handle all of that. It’s all about the football really.”
Kenny’s more immediate concerns is the form of his St Patrick’s Athletic side, who were held to a 0-0 draw away to bottom-of-the-league Cork City on Friday night, extending their winless run to four matches.
Though he admitted his side miss the injured midfielder Romal Palmer, Kenny said Pat’s will not rush into the transfer market, saying the club will not make any “kneejerk decisions.”