The Premier League’s Brentford have appointed the club’s set-piece coach Keith Andrews as their new head coach.
It’s the first managerial position for the Dubliner who played for the Republic of Ireland 35 times, from 2008 to 2012, and was an Irish assistant manager from 2020 to 2023.
"Keith is a very good fit," Brentford director of football Phil Giles told the club's website earlier today.
The job became vacant when Thomas Frank left the club after seven years in charge to take over at Tottenham. Like Andrews, Frank had been promoted from within the club. There will be a strong Irish presence at the club with Republic central defender Nathan Collins and goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher, recently acquired from Liverpool, almost certain to be starters. However, both Andrews and Damien Duff, who quit last week as Shelbourne boss in Dublin, have distanced themselves from rumors that they are to link up at Brentford.
The London club has spent much of its history in the lower divisions, and were in the fourth tier of English football as recently as 2009. When promoted to the Premier League, it was their first time in the top tier since the 1946-47 season and they have surprised many by staying up. The Dane Frank guided the side to 13th-, 9th-, 16th- and 10th-placed finishes over the past four seasons.
"The ceiling is massive in terms of what we can achieve," Andrews said earlier Friday.
"I don't know where to start in terms of what's exciting me because there's so much: the potential of the football club, the potential of the players and the potential of the staff that underpin what has brought success to this brilliant football club."
"He gets on with everyone, he's very open and he’s a learner,” Giles said of Frank’s successor. “Keith is clear in what he wants, he’s detailed, and the players and staff like and respect him.”
"He understands the players in the building and the way we’ve played and trained under Thomas Frank.
"Keith will bring his own evolution but isn’t starting from scratch, so hopefully we can make some quick progress,” Giles added.
"He’s a very good coach and has clear ideas about how he wants the team to improve. We were looking for somebody not just to maintain what we’ve been doing but actually try and get better."
Andrews, who’s 44, had coaching roles with MK Dons and with Sheffield United before his Irish stint under Stephen Kenny, and he joined the Bees in the specialist set-piece role before the beginning of the 2024-25 season.
The Dubliner began his youth career with Stella Maris in his native city, and signed professional papers with Wolverhampton Wanderers in 1999, where he became their youngest captain in over a century. Andrews had spells with 13 clubs in all, several of them on short-term loans, with the defensive midfielder playing 375 league games, and scoring 44 goals, over his 16-year career.
