Keith Andrews has "all the attributes" required to succeed as a Premier League manager, according to former teammate Richard Dunne.
Dubliner Andrews was surprisingly promoted from set piece coach at the west London club during the summer to take up his managerial role following the departure of Thomas Frank to Tottenham Hotspur. He faces a daunting task with Brentford losing key players Bryan Mbeumo to Manchester United and Christian Norgaard to Arsenal.
But former Ireland teammate Dunne told Dublin Live he has been impressed about what he has heard about the 44-year-old's coaching ability. He said: "I think it's a great opportunity for him. Obviously any job in the Premier League is one of the biggest jobs in the world so it's a real big opportunity for him.
"It's not going to be easy, it's going to be a tough gig for him. But I spoke to people about him and everyone speaks really highly of his coaching qualities. I know him as a person and how he communicates as a coach and person is really good so he's got all the attributes to make a good success of it."
But Dunne, who made 431 Premier League appearances for Everton, Man City, Aston Villa and QPR, stressed that it is vital the Bees get off to a good start if Andrews is to be a success. He added: "The Premier League's a tough place and if you don't get the results early on and the players don't buy into what you're trying to do it becomes difficult and a tough place very, very quickly. So, it's just about getting off to a positive start and fingers crossed he gets a successful season and a long run in the job."
Former captain Norgaard's departure has seen Andrews appoint compatriot Nathan Collins in his place. With Josh Cullen being handed the same full-time role at Burnley and Seamus Coleman the long-term skipper at Everton, this will be the first time in almost 20 years that three Irish players will captain Premier League sides.
Richard Dunne pictured during his Manchester City days
Richard Dunne pictured during his Manchester City days (Image: Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images)
Dunne, who captained Man City for three years and also wore the armband on multiple occasions for Ireland, hailed the appointments of Cullen and Collins as a "brilliant" achievement. He said: "Over the last few years they've been mainstays in their team, they've been players that their managers have looked to and they're playing in the middle of the pitch in important positions.
"I think it's just the next step for them to become the full-time club captains and I think, certainly for Nathan Collins, giving him that extra responsibility at this stage of his career where he's starting to come into his prime and starting to become a centre half of real standing in the Premier League, I think it's a really good progression for his career to become a captain and become that leader and hopefully we see the best of him between now an the next five, six seven years."
And he added that Colins' progression could also be a huge boost to the national team. "He could possibly be a captain of Ireland and the one that leads us to a tournament in the future. I think it's really positive to have some leaders around the place."
Richard Dunne was speaking on behalf of Irish online casino affiliate Casino.org
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