Former Ireland midfielder Keith Andrews appointed as new Brentford manager

KEITH ANDREWS HAS been confirmed as the new manager at Brentford.

The former Republic of Ireland international has been heavily linked with the vacancy at the Premier League club and his appointment has now been confirmed.

Andrews becomes the successor to Thomas Frank, having been part of the Dane’s staff last season when he impressed as a set-piece coach.

“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 told Brentford’s in-house media.

“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.

“I don’t know where to start in terms of what’s exciting me because there’s so much: the potential of the football club, the potential of the players and the potential of the staff that underpin what has brought success to this brilliant football club.”

“It’s an amazing place to be and I’ve felt that for 12 months now. That will remain. It’s really important to me to have that vibe around the football club, that energy.

“There are a lot of words that are preached in sporting environments, like culture, and they’re not lived, whereas they are lived here on a daily basis. I think it’s really important to keep that humility that we have as a football club and continue to grow.

“I want a team that the fans feel represents them and what they want to see on a Saturday.

“We want to play winning football, we want to be competitive, we want to have an edge, we want to play dynamic, relentless football but we want to be organised.

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“We want to have huge moments, huge games, and I think the big one is that we want to have an attitude and a relentlessness of progression. We really need to maintain that, and that’s on a daily basis.

“If you do that, the rest looks after itself.

“It’s a massive advantage to know the players inside out, I’ve got a really good connection with the players. The ceiling is massive in terms of what we can achieve and I’ve got so much belief in them.

“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.

“There will be a clear plan to try and develop our talented young players and also our older players, because development doesn’t just stop when you get to a certain age; it’s for every single player, and we’ll support them in every single way we can.” 

“Keith is a very good fit,” said director of football Phil Giles.

“He gets on with everyone, he’s very open and he’s a learner. Keith is clear in what he wants, he’s detailed, and the players and staff like and respect him.

“He understands the players in the building and the way we’ve played and trained under Thomas Frank.

“Keith will bring his own evolution but isn’t starting from scratch, so hopefully we can make some quick progress.

“He’s a very good coach and has clear ideas about how he wants the team to improve. We were looking for somebody not just to maintain what we’ve been doing but actually try and get better.”

Andrews’ backroom staff has yet to be announced, though there are a lot of vacancies to fill with assistant first-team coach Justin Cochrane, head of athletic performance Chris Haslam and first-team analyst Joe Newton all following Frank to Tottenham.

Written by Fintan O’Toole and originally published on The 42 whose award-winning team produces original content that you won’t find anywhere else: on GAA, League of Ireland, women’s sport and boxing, as well as our game-changing rugby coverage, all with an Irish eye. Subscribe here.