Brentford boss Keith Andrews admits he understood the "scepticism" around his summer appointment but says he loves being at the club following a good start to life as head coach.
Earlier this week, Andrews signed a new six-year deal at the Gtech Community Stadium after guiding Brentford into seventh with 11 games to go.
Brentford was the former Republic of Ireland international midfielder's first job as head coach and admits he knew he had to earn the fans’ belief.
He said: "I love being at this club, I love the challenges that it brings, the level that we are at, and what we need to do to strive and not just survive at this level. It’s right up my street.
"I don’t necessarily doubt myself, I don’t feel like I’ve ever suffered with that. That’s not coming from a place of being over-confident or arrogant. I always try take a step forward and when I don’t, I learn from my mistakes.
"When I said I wanted to earn my stripes it was aligned to the fans and my relationship with them, I felt like I needed to earn their belief, in me fundamentally and scepticism around my appointment in the summer which I understood at the time.
"I did want to grasp that opportunity with both hands so hopefully I’ve done that."
Brentford travel to Burnley on Saturday where a win could take them closer to a place in Europe next season, and they could have long-throw specialist Michael Kayode back in the side.
Andrews added: "Michael is back in training; we’ll see how he is tomorrow. I think he should be in and around it. He just picked up a little knock, and it wasn’t quite right to have him involved last weekend."
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