How Keith Andrews proved doubters wrong and hit ground running at Brentford | OneFootball

Andrews has refined good work done by Thomas Frank and made excellent start to season

In what was supposed to be a season of significant change for Brentford, they find themselves exactly where they did after 11 games last season.

It was Frank’s departure after seven years to Tottenham last summer that set the wheels in motion for a mass exodus of players and staff, which looked set to rock the club.

Top goalscorer Bryan Mbeumo left for Manchester United, his strike partner Yoane Wissa left on more acrimonious terms for Newcastle, while captain Christian Norgaard joined Arsenal.

Academy director Stephen Torpey, who helped rebuild Brentford’s youth set up, also moved to Old Trafford over the summer. Brentford had handled turnover before, but not on this scale.

Brentford are just three points off the top four after a 3-1 win over Newcastle before the international break

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To add to the feeling of uncertainty heading into the new season, Brentford appointed set-piece coach Keith Andrews to replace Frank, despite him having no senior managerial experience. When he lost in convincing fashion to Nottingham Forest in his first game in charge, the signs looked ominous.

But Brentford have made a habit of not bowing to pressure; their confidence in their methods remains unshakeable.

It would have been more of a risk, according to director of football Phil Giles, to look externally for Frank’s replacement. In Andrews, Brentford had someone who understood the culture of the club.

Much of Brentford’s best work this season has come from building on the success of Frank, rather than Andrews trying to impose something altogether different at a time when continuity was key.

Set-pieces, particularly long throws, have remained a staple of Brentford’s attacking arsenal, and the Bees have put the rest of the league on watch, scoring four times from a long throw already this season.

To the rest of the league, this feels like a relatively new tactical phenomenon. For Brentford, this is just a continuation of the work they have done in harnessing the fine margins to their benefit.

Even last season, when Andrews masterminded a 2-1 win away to Bournemouth with two set-piece goals, Frank was reluctant to give the former Ireland international all the credit. Instead, he insisted Andrews was merely adding layers to the culture around set-pieces that had been at the club for many years.

Brentford next face Brighton when they return to action on Saturday

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The idea of adding layers runs deep through the club; it was a term routinely used by Frank, and it’s one Andrews has taken on during his first few months in charge.

Brentford have built on the solid defensive base that Frank had developed, with centre-back partners Nathan Collins and Sepp van den Berg yet to miss a minute of league action for the Bees.

They are conceding fewer shots than they did last season (12.2 per90 compared to 17 per90 last season), and they are also conceding lower quality chances, with only Arsenal and Sunderland (0.10) having conceded shots with a lower average xG than Brentford (0.11).

Continuity is key, with goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher also yet to miss a game since his arrival from Liverpool, and from that foundation Andrews has sought to refine rather than remodel Frank’s legacy.

In attack, Brentford again have not strayed far from the ideas Frank implemented, despite losing Wissa and Mbeumo this summer.

They are among the most efficient teams in the league, with Igor Thiago, who ranks second for goals scored this season, boasting a higher shot conversion rate (32 per cent) than Erling Haaland (31.1 per cent).

Brentford are fourth in the Premier League for conversion rate overall, and under Andrews, they have become even more ruthless on the counter. Brentford have scored as many goals from counter-attacks this season (5) as they did across the whole of last season.

Despite bringing in the experience of Jordan Henderson, the average age of Brentford’s starting XI is just 25.1 years old, and the development of Michael Kayode, 21, and Yehor Yarmoliuk, also 21, into first-team regulars has made Brentford a more explosive and dynamic team.

Jordan Henderson has played a key for under Andrews

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Kayode, in particular, has gained attention for his long throws, but his game is not defined by just one eye-catching party trick. The right-back, who will soon be sure to garner interest from clubs higher up the table, leads Brentford for chances created, take-ons attempted, and combined tackles and interceptions.

Signed permanently in the summer from Fiorentina, Kayode brings energy and enthusiasm to Brentford’s team, which has helped them overwhelm the likes of Liverpool, Newcastle, and Manchester United.

Home is where the heart is for Brentford, who have lost just one of their first six games at the Gtech Community Stadium.

At home, Andrews has been able to get his side to impose their style on the opposition. This, however, is proving trickier away from home, where their only victory has come against West Ham, who were at the time without a point at the London Stadium.

Brentford lack serious depth, particularly in attack, outside of their starting XI, and Andrews has yet to be hit with the sort of injury crisis that threatened to derail Brentford’s last two campaigns under Frank.

Andrews, though, is in the habit of only trying to control what he can, and in that regard, he has made an excellent start to life as a Premier League manager.