Brentford head coach Keith Andrews spoke following his side's 2-2 draw at home to Everton
Rookie boss Keith Andrews insists he is relishing the challenge of going head-to-head with the Premier League’s most-experienced manager David Moyes for a place in Europe after his Brentford side were denied victory over Everton following Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall’s stoppage-time equaliser.
The result at the Gtech Community Stadium leaves both sides level on 47 points with six matches to go.
Andrews took over as Bees head coach last summer in his first senior post after Thomas Frank, who steered the club back to the top flight after a 74-year absence departed for Tottenham Hotspur.
After his bright start at Brentford, the Dubliner penned a new deal with the club in February, extending his contract until 2032. And in terms of going up against the division’s elder statesman Moyes, Andrews said: “It’s a brilliant challenge, every week. I’m also a huge traditionalist and I have huge respect for what managers like David who have achieved so much in the game over such a long period.
“I think what he has achieved now both times at Everton has been pretty special. I think the way he conducts himself is just class, just very, very classy.
“The challenge week-in, week-out, going up against different managers and different styles of playing and different systems is always just that – a really tough challenge. We knew today would be difficult.
“We’re always confident of winning games and I think we’ve earned that right, but that’s never in an over-confident way.”
An Igor Thiago brace had twice put Brentford ahead but after Beto had initially levelled proceedings on 26 minutes, a 91st-minute effort from Dewsbury-Hall produced a second equaliser late on. Andrews said: “We’re disappointed, naturally when you concede that late. In the second half in particular, I thought we approached it in a different way.
“There were circumstances in the first half that were pretty disruptive. In the build-up to the game, Dams (Mikkel Damsgaard) wasn’t feeling particularly well, and showed bravery to play but wasn’t himself.
“There was just a bit of a knock-on effect to that, the first half was a bit slow and laboured at times, even though I thought we were the better team. In the second half, I thought for half an hour we were outstanding and controlled the game.
“We created good opportunities and looked more like us. To get control against a very good team who have been playing very, very well, was very pleasing.
“We got the goal but then unfortunately couldn’t quite manage those last few moments to see out what I feel would have been a well-deserved win.”
The 45-year-old added: “We were 90 seconds away from winning. We’ve got a young group and it doesn’t take a genius to look at our bench in terms of the depth that we have, there’s a lot of young players on the bench and the players are giving absolutely everything.
“Maybe, just maybe the opposition look at us a bit differently compared to the first period of the season.
“There’s always the opposition. I think the momentum in a game can flip naturally, the emotions and psychological side of the game for sure.
“We’ve got young players and a young squad who are learning about this level. We’re always analysing what we do and how we do it.”
Thiago now has 21 Premier League goals for the season, including five against Everton after deflecting an effort by right-back Michael Kayade into the net for his second of the afternoon.
And Andrews said: “You earn a little bit of luck if there was that. The anticipation of being in the right places, he knows where the goal is clearly, he’s making that run and for me it’s not a coincidence when you’re in the right place at the right time so often.
“I think he’s an all-round centre-forward, a traditional number nine in a way you’d probably build one from scratch. He can do pretty much everything, he can drop in and give you that platform to play.
“He has the ability to run in behind with the speed that he has. He can attack crosses and has the awareness of players around him, he works really, really hard on his game.
“There have been some outstanding strikers here. Different types with different attributes, some with their back to goal.
“I wouldn’t want to put him in a bracket against the rest because I was a big fan of all those players, but Thiago is obviously very special for me.
“I think the biggest thing for Thiago this season was staying fit and playing as many minutes as he has. The obvious reason was that he wasn’t available for a lot of last season.
“That’s your first target, can we keep him available? Can we build on his confidence, can we integrate him into the team in a way in which he can become effective in a way we think he can be?
“The reality is that you never know that. Anybody who says different wouldn’t be entirely honest.
“We always knew he had brilliant attributes. I think he’s selfless in the way he plays the game for us.
“The goals always get all the attention and for strikers it does. But his overall performance levels continue to get better and better and he constantly evolving his game and improving to become a very, very special player.”