Brentford place trust in Keith Andrews after Mauricio Pochettino talks

The 42

3 hours ago

KEITH ANDREWS' APPOINTMENT as Brentford's head coach on a three-year deal was not a massive surprise to some in Premier League circles who have come to understand how the London club operate.
An internal appointment was the expectation for many, although the sense among rivals initially was that it would have been another member of Thomas Frank's coaching staff that would make the step up.
Justin Cochrane has developed a reputation as a rising star of English coaching. He started with the Tottenham Hotspur academy and then moved on to the English FA where he was in charge of the U16s and U17s before joining Manchester United as their head of player development and coaching.
He is now part of Frank's staff at Spurs after joining along with Chris Haslam and analyst Joe Newton.
Cochrane was climbing the ladder and, to those on the outside, the sense was he was primed to take the top job. Two weeks ago, chatter became stronger that Andrews was properly in contention.
Whether Cochrane was actively pursued by Brentford director of football Phil Giles and technical director Lee Dykes has not been fully determined. Sources explained that Giles is the man who oversees the financial elements, budgets and transfer limits, while Dykes is the one who proposes options for recruitment.
As The 42 detailed when Caoimhín Kelleher joined Brentford from Liverpool, a shortlist of goalkeepers was presented by Dykes to Frank and his staff with Kelleher's name alongside two others. The Ireland international was the unanimous choice.
And The 42 understands that Andrews has made such an impression with his buy-in to the club culture while working as set-piece coach over the last 12 months that he was viewed as a viable alternative to two external candidates for the Brentford head coach position.
The highest profile of those under consideration is believed to be Mauricio Pochettino. The former Spurs and Chelsea boss was only appointed as national team manager of USA in October 2024 ahead of next summer's World Cup, and he was quick to distance himself from rumours of a return to Spurs after Ange Postecoglou was sacked earlier this month.
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'If something happens [in the future], you for sure will see, but I am so happy in this moment and we cannot talk about this type of thing,' he said.
Brentford, it can be revealed, did interview the Argentinian during their search for Frank's replacement. The club, who finished 10th in the Premier League last season, also sat down with former Nottingham Forest and Leicester City boss Steve Cooper.
USA manager Mauricio Pochettino. Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo
He has been working as a technical observer for Uefa since leaving the Foxes in November of last year just five months into his reign.
Kieran McKenna's name had been doing the rounds as another possible fit but The 42 understands that he was not of interest to Brentford, much like Fulham when they were considering options when they thought that Marco Silva might depart.
The fact that 44-year-old Andrews, who was Stephen Kenny's No 2 with Ireland before a spell on Sheffield United's staff under Chris Wilder, and began his coaching journey with Blackburn Rovers' U19s at the age of 29 when he was still playing for the club, has got the job when someone like Pochettino was spoken to is also indicative of how the coaching structure works at Brentford.
As one source described it, 'Thomas Frank was a version of Keith Andrews' when he first worked as an assistant to Dean Smith and the club don't place 100% of the responsibility on the head coach's shoulders.
Instead, Brentford view it that the tandem work of Giles and Dykes at the top, backed by a best-in class support staff of coaches and analysts, provide a framework within which the head coach must operate. Pochettino, despite being well thought of as a person, struggled with such an environment at Chelsea and that proved a big reason why he departed Stamford Bridge.
The expected exit of key Brentford players like Christian Norgaard and Bryan Mbeumo to Arsenal and Manchester United, respectively, will also add to the workload to ensure they are adequately replaced.
Michael Caulfield might not be a name widely known outside of sporting circles, but the former chief executive for the Professional Jockeys Association has also been a key figure behind the scenes at Brentford's training ground.
At the behest of former champion jockey AP McCoy in the early 1990s, Caulfield – who has Irish roots through his grandparents – retrained as a sports psychologist and has become a confidant for many, among them ex England boss Gareth Southgate.
Andrews' respect for this culture of openness created before he arrived was immediate, so to an understanding of how the head coach position fits within Brentford's structure.
'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,' the Dubliner said when his appointment was confirmed on Friday.
'Keith is a very good fit,' director of football Giles added.
'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.'
Brentford, for their part, are a club confident that those they've identified and employed in positions elsewhere in the building are capable of stepping up.
While Pochettino – who still has a home in London – might have been viewed as a more glamourous, headline-grabbing appointment, someone who has more experience at the top level as a coach/manager, Brentford have not chosen to deviate from the thinking that has made them into an established Premier League club.
Maintaining that status will not be the sole responsibility of Andrews but there can be no getting away from the fact it will define whether the appointment is a success.