Brentford chief explains why Frank successor was decided before he joined Spurs
Brentford have promoted Keith Andrews from set-piece coach to head coach after just a year at the club following the long-planned-for departure of Thomas Frank to Tottenham
Brentford had long ago considered replacing Thomas Frank because they knew the Dane would be poached by a Premier League rival. The Bees have appointed Keith Andrews as Frank's successor after Tottenham came calling and the process has now been explained by the club's director of football Phil Giles.
Frank was Brentford boss for nine years, playing a crucial role in helping to establish the west London club as a Premier League regular. He left earlier in June to replace Ange Postecoglou at Spurs, leaving Brentford with a decision to make.
They have done so quickly, promoting Andrews from set-piece coach to head coach. The 44-year-old former Republic of Ireland midfielder will embark upon his first head coach position in the 2025/26 campaign and will have a major job on his hands.
Filling Frank's shoes is hard enough, but Andrews, who joined Brentford last summer from Sheffield United, will also have to deal with the losses of key players. Winger Bryan Mbeumo is the subject of a £60million bid from Manchester United, while captain Christian Norgaard is heading to Arsenal for £9.3m.
Brentford have developed a reputation for being a well-run club and Giles is sure Andrews will be able to build on Frank's work. 'With Keith being an internal appointment and promotion, the thought process about how to replace Thomas started many years ago,' he told the club website.
'When we replaced Dean Smith, we had Thomas lined up. While we never promised him the job, we had the idea that Thomas could potentially take over from Dean. It's the same principle here. When we appoint coaches, we always have an idea about whether they could potentially step up.
'When we became aware that Tottenham were interested in Thomas, we had a more detailed process, speaking to our staff but also arranging to speak with some people externally. That process started before Thomas had even formally left because we knew the direction of travel.'
While this is his first head coaching position, Andrews has picked up a wealth of experience working as an assistant at Sheffield United, the Republic of Ireland and MK Dons. 'Keith is a very, very good person. He has good values and fits our culture well. He gets on with everyone, he's very open and he's a learner,' Giles added.
'He joined us a year ago as set-piece coach because he wanted a new experience. He wanted to be at our club and to learn. That says a lot about him. He's also covered many other parts of the game so he's well qualified to do the job.'
Andrews said: '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.'
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