Brentford this afternoon announced the appointment of Keith Andrews as their new head coach. Keith Andrews replaces Thomas Frank who departed the club for the lure of Tottenham Hotspur earlier in the summer. An interesting move from the Brentford hierarchy. Hawkeye Sidekick delves more into the appointment.
An appointment focused solely on club continuity
Brentford have a reputation of hiring internally. When Dean Smith left the football club, Thomas Frank was appointed manager.
Frank’s extensive experience in the club and managerial experience (prior) the decisive factor. The appointment was inspired as Brentford secured top flight promotion and consolidated their place in the top flight.
The behind the scenes media reports on Brentford last season painted a positive narrative. A well defined academy and player pathway to the senior ranks (if good enough).
A club who are close knit. A club who embrace an open mindset to challenge the norms and elevate performance levels with each passing fixture. An agile mindset!
Data analytics fundamental to the club success in the league’s top flight. The ability to create standout goal chances is a key evidence based metric. Brentford were best with shots-on-target percentage (39 per cent) in the Premier League.
This analytical approach was essential for the incumbent manager to embrace and adopt. Keith Andrews with his role as set piece coach has embraced this ethos and more. The set piece statistics make for excellent reading for Andrews last season.
Brentford were also one of the strongest set-piece sides in the top tier. Only four teams finished ahead of the Bees in this statistical metric.
The club hierarchy interview process you can argue was done before any external managerial target was interviewed. Andrews reputation at the club and continuity ethos were too hard to resist.
There is risk though
Thomas Frank’s stewardship at Brentford was excellent. The club’s ability to pick the right players to join the club pivotal.
Ivan Toney’s departure last season for other clubs would have been disastrous but Brentford did not panic. Mbeumo assumed goal scoring duties. The side flourished with their set piece and ability to create excellent chances as outlined earlier on this piece.
This though feels different. Andrews has significant coaching experience under his belt. He will have learned massively from his international coaching tenure under Stephen Kenny. With Norgaard and Mbeumo looking destined to leave the club, Andrews has key player decisions to make.
The back room staff that Andrews assembles will be an interesting watch. Who does he trust to form a tight management team and elevate the club? Damien Duff’s coaching links have cooled. Thomas Frank has brought back room members from Brentford to Tottenham. Andrews must hit the ground running. He needs to act swiftly before the media pack creates an early season sacking story in West London.
Transfers
Ireland soccer fans will be taking more of an active interest in Brentford next season. Andrews as the new manager to add to Caoimhin Kelleher (joined from Liverpool) and Nathan Collins to the playing ranks.
Brentford though need to add to their squad defensively with Ben Mee departing the club. Brentford are behind in summer transfer business. Thomas Frank was always keen to bring in players early in the off-season. New players integrated into the setup. The managerial change means that the Bees are behind in off-season preparations.
Can Keith Andrews now persuade player representatives for their clients to join the football club? If not, then this is a baptism of fire for the Dublin native. Solid results are required and existing squad members will be eager to assess the managerial style of Andrews. Squad members will be quick to assess if they fit into the plans of the new gaffer? Squad morale paramount but is delicately balanced.
The club dynamics in terms of their approach to running the club will not change. The head coach is the figure head and must confidently tackle the challenges that the club face with immediate effect. The Andrews era will be interesting. The jury is out on this appointment given the lack of first team managerial experience. A gamble which Brentford club board will hope is an inspired one like the Thomas Frank appointment.