Brentford appoint former set-piece coach Andrews as new manager

New Straits Times

5 hours ago

LONDON: Brentford on Friday confirmed the appointment of former set-piece coach Keith Andrews as their new manager to replace Thomas Frank.
Frank left the Bees to take charge of Tottenham earlier this month after guiding Brentford to a 10th-place finish in the Premier League last season.
Andrews was the surprise choice to succeed Frank, with Brentford reportedly picking him ahead of Ipswich boss Kieran McKenna and former Ajax manager Francesco Farioli.
Owner Matthew Benham's decision to hand Andrews his first managerial role is a significant gamble.
Andrews, a former Irish international, joined Brentford's backroom staff in 2024 to work as their set-piece expert.
The 44-year-old has previously held coaching roles with Sheffield United, MK Dons and Ireland.
Andrews is confident he can rise to the challenge of maintaining the impressive work done by Frank in his seven-year reign in west London.
"Pretty humbled would be the overriding feeling, honoured that I'm the person that's been chosen to take the club into the next chapter," Andrews said.
"I'm very appreciative of the owner, the board and the staff that have supported this decision. It's an opportunity I feel I'm very capable of doing and ready to do."
Frank led Brentford back to the top-flight in 2021 after an absence of 74 years and established the Bees in the Premier League.
Like Andrews, Frank was also promoted from the backroom staff to take over as Brentford boss when Dean Smith left in 2018.
Andrews established Brentford as one of the Premier League's most effective sides at set-pieces last season and was also hailed for his impact on their habit of scoring early in games.
"I love being on the grass, I love developing young players, I love seeing the growth in young players as players and as human beings. There's clear alignment between myself and the football club on that," he said.
However, Andrews takes over facing a potential rebuilding job at Gtech Community Stadium.
Goalkeeper Mark Flekken has joined Bayer Leverkusen, winger Bryan Mbeumo is the subject of a second bid from Manchester United and midfielder Christian Norgaard is reportedly set to move to Arsenal.
"Keith is a very, very good person," said director of football Phil Giles. "He has good values and fits our culture well. He gets on with everyone, he's very open and he's a learner.
"He's got very clear ideas about how he wants the team to improve.... He's a perfect fit for what we were looking for."