Keith Andrews: All you need to know about the expected new Brentford boss

Irish Daily Mirror

5 hours ago

Keith Andrews is in line to become the next manager of Brentford with reports in England suggesting that a deal has already been signed.
The former Republic of Ireland midfielder has only been at the club since 2024 having joined Thomas Frank's backroom staff, but just as Frank was appointed from within when Dean Smith left the Bees in 2018, Andrews looks poised to be handed the top job.
The 44-year-old has long been a prominent figure in Irish football circles having played for the National side and been a part of Stephen Kenny's coaching ticket for a number of years. Here, we take a look at Andrews' career to date as he embarks upon his latest journey.
Andrews played football for Stella Maris in his youth before moving to England and joining Wolverhampton Wanderers in 1999.
He spent six years at Wolves, during which time he struggled to nail down a starting spot on the team and subsequently spent long periods on loan at the likes of Stoke City and Walsall.
He moved to Hull in 2005 before dropping down to League Two to join MK Dons just a year later. After two seasons with the Dons, the first of which seeing them get promoted to League One, Andrews secured the biggest move of his career when he was signed by Premier League side Blackburn.
Andrews was a mainstay at Ewood Park for the next two seasons, playing 65 times in the Premier League for Blackburn. Around this time, Andrews was called into the Ireland squad by Giovanni Trapattoni and became one of the Italians most trusted players, forming a midfield duo with Glenn Whelan.
He scored three goals in 35 appearances for Ireland and featured at Euro 2012. He was sent off against Italy in Ireland's third and final group game of a wretched tournament.
Andrews made his last Ireland appearance later that year. He continued to play club football for another three seasons before retiring and moving into punditry and coaching.
After retiring in 2012, Andrews tried his hand at punditry, working for numerous television stations but spending most of his time with Sky Sports and Virgin Media.
He was outspoken at times and definitely wasn't afraid to speak his mind as evidenced by his criticism of Martin O'Neill towards the end of his time in charge of Ireland.
Speaking after a 1-0 defeat to Wales in 2018, Andrews told Sky Sports: 'They need options on the ball, everything is off the cuff…he (O'Neill) keeps going on about Robbie Keane…leave it…Robbie Keane was a one off, you have to stop moaning about what you have, you have to try and create a team spirit because the more they keep hearing that, what's it going to do for their confidence…
'The players are on the floor, it's been one of the worst years in living memory…a lot of it is down to Martin.'
Andrews' first role in coaching was as assistant manager to Mark Robinson at MK Dons.
The former midfielder joined up with Stephen Kenny when the future Ireland manager took over as U21's boss and was an assistant to Kenny throughout the former Dundalk gaffer's time in charge of Ireland.
While practically every other Irish assistant - from Damien Duff to Anthony Barry - departed Kenny's coaching ticket, Andrews stuck it out to the bitter end.
He was well regarded within the squad, and when he faced criticism from the likes of Martin O'Neill in the media, Ireland mainstay Josh Cullen came to the defence of his coach.
"I can only speak on the dealings I've had with Keith personally and he's been fantastic around the place.
"I think he's a top coach and still probably at the early stages of his career. The detail he gives us in training and meetings is brilliant and I think he's been a massive part of the progress the team's made over the last couple of years and I'm sure he'll have a big future as a coach as well."
After leaving Ireland with Stephen Kenny in 2023, Andrews took a coaching job at Sheffield United.
He wasn't with the Blades for long as he swiftly moved to Brentford ahead of the 2024/2025 season, becoming their set-piece coach.
Brentford's innovation at set-pieces was often remarked upon last season, with the club often creating chances and scoring within the opening moments of games thanks to pre-planned moves that had Andrews' fingerprints all over them.
Andrews even received the Monday Night Football treatment from Jamie Carragher, who broke down the Irishman's set-moves alongside soon to be West Ham manager Graham Potter.
After Thomas Frank left to join Spurs earlier this month, Andrews quickly became front-runner for the absent post. Brentford have a history of promoting from within, with Frank himself stepping up from assistant to number one, leading Brentford to the most successful period in the club's history.
On Tuesday, it was reported by The Guardian that a deal with Andrews had been agreed and that he would shortly be unveiled as the new boss.
Andrews often worked as a pundit while Martin O'Neill was in charge of the Republic of Ireland national side. He was critical at times, and O'Neill certainly hasn't forgotten it.
Speaking on TalkSport today, O'Neill said: "He has been their set-piece coach. 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 setpieces to try to win games," O'Neill told TalkSport.
"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."
The row with O'Neill has rumbled on for many years. Back in 2022, when O'Neill was promoting his book, the then 70-year-old took aim at Andrews' playing career.
"If Roy Keane was doing punditry work and said I'd made a mess of something, I might disagree but I would accept it from someone who has played at that level, has managed himself and knows the pressures you are under.
"I have a level of earned respect for that opinion but not a lower-leaguer who wouldn't know what it is like to win a medal. And who is now finding how difficult it is to win football matches."
Keane served as O'Neill's assistant during that five-year spell in charge of Ireland, so, unsurprisingly, Andrews also drew the ire of the Corkman.
Speaking to the Sunday Independent in 2020, Keane said: "If I can make one point about the new Irish staff. I've heard a lot of bullshitters over the last 10 years and Keith Andrews us up there with the best of them."