Six talking points from Keith Andrews' end-of-season review | OneFootball

Keith Andrews sat down to reflect on his first season as Brentford head coach following the conclusion of the 2025/26 campaign.

Under his stewardship, the Bees finished ninth in the Premier League, the joint-highest finish in the club's history.

In the sit-down interview, Andrews talks through a series of photos of key moments, beginning with being appointed in late June 2025, right up to the 1-1 draw against Liverpool at Anfield, which closed the season.

Here are six key talking points from his reflection, which can be seen in full above.

Season reflections

24 hours on from the final day of the Premier League campaign, Andrews provided his review of his first season in charge.

"It’s still slightly mixed emotions even from when I spoke just after the [Liverpool] game," he said.

"You can look at that game in isolation and feel a certain way about it, but I think the overriding feeling of the whole season is one of real pride at what we were able to achieve.

"It hasn’t been too long so I’m sure it’ll all sink in. I’ll have mixed emotions and different feelings over the coming days and weeks, but overall it’s a season to be really proud of."

Coaching staff

Andrews discussed the impact of the coaching staff, as well as the wider staff at the club, in contributing to a positive year.

"The coaching staff who I work closest with; we’ve got a really, really strong connection - a bond that is built on trust," explained the former Republic of Ireland international.

"The support that we have for each other and the challenges we have, we don’t just accept what we do, we look to improve what we do on a daily basis.

"We’ve grown that as the season has gone on. The same goes for all the other staff; it really is a team effort."

He added: "Nathan [Collins] spoke brilliantly in the dressing room after the Liverpool game. The players are very aware of what the staff puts into trying to facilitate an amazing environment for the players to flourish in.

"The staff have been immense this year with everything they’ve done and everything they’ve tried to work towards. I have to say, that's also working towards it in a way where it feels like it’s fun.

"At times, that isn’t possible, you need to roll your sleeves up and there are some tough days and dark days, but that’s where that bond, trust and unity come to the fore even more."

Learning from tough days

An opening day 3-1 defeat at Nottingham Forest and a west London derby loss against Fulham were two disappointing days in the season, but Andrews explained how those experiences helped the team grow.

"It was a painful day, that’s the reality of that day," he reflected on the former fixture.

"We had to accept that the level of our performance in the first half wasn’t anywhere near where we needed to be.

"It’s very easy for me, and it was at the time, to know why that was in a lot of ways. Of course, it doesn’t feel very nice at the time, but I knew we would improve on a number of fronts.

"Dams [Mikkel Damsgaard], for example, was in the team then pulled out midway through the training session the day before because his wife went into labour.

"We certainly learnt from it as a group, but there’s no doubt it hurt."

On the trip to Craven Cottage, he continued: "It really hurt in a local derby against our biggest rivals.

"With the way we approached the game in advance, I was pretty confident we could produce a level of performance to really compete with them.

"They were very much ahead of where we were at that time in their journey with their coach, but I felt we were further ahead than what we produced on that evening, which is what made that disappointing.

"In the aftermath of that, there were some real, honest discussions internally, which were needed. That’s an important moment in our season. I felt from that moment, we started to take strides in a really positive direction."

Beating the best

Brentford defeated Manchester United 3-1 and Liverpool 3-2 in the autumn.

On the latter, Andrews said: "There was belief from the Man United game, and we were obviously taking steps in the right direction.

"You see [in the picture] two more key individuals in our season - [Igor] Thiago and Michael [Kayode] - who have both been immense this season and have epitomised everything we do and how we try to play.

"To beat the reigning champions was a pretty special evening. I thought we were immense that night.

"It was a performance that merited the result we got. It was a big night for us."

Youth and experience

The Bees faced a stern test against National League North side Macclesfield in the fourth round of the FA Cup, with an own goal securing a 1-0 win on a night where two young players made their debuts for the club.

"Luka [Bentt] played and Kaye [Furo] played; it was probably not the debut Kaye anticipated," Andrews detailed.

"Luka is someone that we have high hopes for. He’s a very young player who has done particularly well this season and has deserved that opportunity.

"The game in general was, as we thought it would be, really difficult. We weren't paying them lip service going into the game.

"It was all set up to be quite tricky and it certainly was."

When Brentford played out a goalless draw against Leeds United at Elland Road in March, they did so with Ethan Pinnock at the heart of defence on a night where Bentt and Furo were joined on the bench by Romelle Donovan, Ollie Shield, Josh Stephenson and Conor McManus.

Andrews continued: "We were tested around that stage of the season and were carrying a few knocks.

"We decided to go with a back five and Ethan played in the middle of that back five. He’s deserved more minutes. He’s been ultra professional, and the respect I have for him as a player and what he’s achieved at this club is immense.

"The young players, I spoke to them after the game about how much they should learn from players like Ethan and how he went about going to a place like that to fight hard for a point.

"I’ve felt for Ethan this year, and that was an Ethan Pinnock point for me."

An emotional return

822 days after his previous first-team appearance, Andrews introduced Josh Dasilva as a late substitute in a 3-0 win against West Ham United at Gtech Community Stadium.

"It was a big game for us, first and foremost," said the Bees' head coach.

"We’d gone through a period where we were drawing quite a few games and were difficult to beat, which was pleasing.

"We weren’t quite getting the results which we were clearly after. Some players were coming back into the fold; you can see Vitaly [Janelt] in the background there.

"The big one was, firstly, the win against West Ham. We made it difficult for ourselves in the first half, but in the second half we were outstanding and got ourselves into a commanding position."

On Dasilva, he continued: "It was always in the back of my mind that if we got to a stage where we were in that type of position, that we could introduce Josh in front of the home fans.

"The emotion of that day will stay with me for quite a while. That was up there in terms of the most emotional moments I’ve had in the game.

"I haven’t been here for all of his journey, but I’ve been here for the last couple of years and I’ve seen how hard he’s had to work.

"He knows how much I value him as a person, and when he gets back up to full speed, he’s going to be a hell of a player for us."