Extended Thomas Frank interview: Brentford 'one of the best stories' in English football | OneFootball

Thomas Frank believes that Brentford is one of the 'best stories' in English football in recent times.

The Bees head coach sat down for an extended interview with the club following the conclusion of the 2024/25 Premier League campaign.

Last Sunday's 1-1 draw at Wolves secured another top-half finish for the west Londoners, who will compete in the top flight for the fifth-successive year come August.

"It was a fantastic season," Frank reflected.

“We had the positive of finishing in the top 10. It was the smallest of margins from finishing ninth, if we had one more point or three more goals then we would have done that and equalled our best-ever Premier League position.

“We always wanted to thrive and try to be an asset to the Premier League, because if you only want to avoid relegation, only want to survive, it’s so negatively loaded.

“We are positive, we believe. If you have those two things, then anything is possible. Of course, then we need to back the nice wording with the hard work, the alignment, the strategy, the processes.

“If you merge all of that together, then it’s possible to do what we’ve done. All Brentford fans should be extremely proud of their club and what we have done over the last many years; it’s quite unique.

“I think we’re one of the best stories in England over the last five years."

As is well-documented, Brentford's budget is and has been considerably lower than many of their division rivals.

Expanding further on how the club has been able to consistently compete, Frank added: "It is the most difficult league in the world.

"This season has shown that it is maybe even more competitive than it has ever been if I compare the four seasons we’ve been in the Premier League.

“We all know that budget matters, money matters. That’s a big part of your performance range or indicators.

“And we all know that we are among the lowest in the division, but the good thing is that strategy from top to bottom, alignment from top to bottom.

"We have top leadership in Matthew Benham, who is a fantastic owner and probably one of the best in the world, good and calm leadership from Phil Giles, Lee Dykes and Jon Varney; all of that is important.

“We’ve got a very good group of staff, a good group of players, and we are aligned in how we want to play, the principles we want to get into the players and how we want to develop people.

“All of that makes it possible for us to compete.”

In the 17-minute interview - which can be seen in full below - Frank discussed a number of topics about the 2024/25 season, how his side has evolved, player recruitment this summer and ambitions for next season.

The Bees boss also discussed how much of a difference supporters have made and can make, both at Gtech Community Stadium and on the road.

“The fans are so important, they are crucial," he explained.

“It’s been a fantastic journey we’ve all been on together, and they have been very good this season.

“We truly need their support and value it. When we go away from home, the support we get is so good and it means so much to us when there are full away ends."

Frank continued: “The last two away games against Wolves and Ipswich; full away ends, fantastic, loud, we can hear them, they push us forward, they get us through tough spells.

"There have been times when we haven’t had full away ends. We appreciate everything with ticket prices, jobs, travel, families, but if they can do what they can to give us full away ends, it would mean the world to us.

“At home, when the team and the fans are on it together, it’s a fantastic place to play. I know that it has an impact on the results, but I also think there are times where it could be louder, where they could help us more, and I just want us to do even more to push together.”