Brentford Set to Appoint Managerial Newcomer as Frank Replacement

Thomas Frank landed the Bees job after earning an internal promotion and the club are known to like rewarding their staff where possible. Prior to Frank officially being unveiled as Spurs boss, there was a lot of talk that Justin Cochrane would be the man to step into the void. He even featured at the top of the next Brentford manager odds for a while.

That theory was blown when it was announced he’d be heading to North London with Frank. Now, it looks like the frontrunner for the gig is Brentford’s set-piece coach, Keith Andrews.

Andrews, who had an extensive playing career donning the colours of MK Dons, Blackburn Rovers and the Republic of Ireland among others, would be stepping into a Head Coach role for the first time in his career.

He is well respected at Brentford, though, and has coaching experience having served on the Ireland staff, as well as working at Brentford, Sheffield United and MK Dons.

All that being said, appointing Andrews would represent an enormous risk for the club; especially against the backdrop of the summer transfer window that could see Bryan Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa move on.

Over the course of the last few days, Kieran McKenna to Brentford has been as short as 4/5 with some bookmakers. That price has drifted a long way since then, though, with McKenna having gone from favourite to second favourite overnight.

Despite the odds lengthening, McKenna is a name that has been widely linked with the Brentford job and it’s clear to see why. He is in his first managerial job and has taken Ipswich on a rapid rise from League One to Premier League courtesy of back-to-back promotions.

The Tractor Boys failed to survive in the top flight last season but earned plaudits for the approach to the campaign from most inside the game. It means that McKenna’s stock remains extremely high as a young coach.

Scott Parker is another young coach who has seen loose links with the vacancy at Brentford. Parker has experience in the top-flight but it’s his most recent body of work that really impresses. The former England midfielder steered Burnley to promotion last season with a stern defensive record.

From a personal and stylistic perspective, you can see why the two parties could potentially work well together. Parker, though, will likely be keen to see what he can achieve with his Burnley side now they’re back in the big time.

Knutsen, a Norwegian, would allow Brentford to continue their Scandinavian connection. More importantly, he has a sensational record of delivering success at Bodo/Glimt whilst still having that left-field feel that the Bees clearly likely to exploit.

Knutsen has guided Bodo to four league titles in Norway whilst also taking them on a couple of really impressive European adventures. Most famous among those, beating Jose Mourinho’s Roma and, most recently, steering his side to a Europa League semi-final where his side were eliminated by Tottenham. It’s a funny old game, isn’t it?