Yet it continues a policy of appointing from within after Frank was promoted from his role as an assistant to replace Dean Smith in 2018. Frank had managed Brondby and Denmark youth teams before joining Brentford.
“It is a risk but it is also refreshing from Brentford,” adds former England defender Upson.
“It shows they have got faith in their structure, the same as they had when they appointed Frank.”
On his time working with Andrews at Brighton and MK Dons, Upson says: “He’s a very personable guy, and is excellent working with the players – he has got really good people skills, and his communication was really good.
“He was a good talker on the pitch and that links into his coaching as well.
“I had a good chat with Keith only a few weeks ago when I was covering a Brentford game for 5 Live and he was very complimentary about the club and working with Frank, and talked about how he was really getting his teeth into his role.
“He doesn’t have the experience of being a manager but he has the personality and the belief to do it and that must have come across, not just in an interview but from his work at the club in the past few months.”
Andrews has certainly made an impact since he was appointed set-piece coach at the Gtech Community Stadium on 1 July, 2024.
Fourteen of Brentford’s 66 Premier League goals in 24-25 came from set-pieces. Only Arsenal (17), Crystal Palace (17), Nottingham Forest (17), Aston Villa (16), Brighton (15) and Everton (15) scored more.
Meanwhile, Brentford finished top of the table in terms of fewest goals conceded from set-pieces (3) – second on the list is Manchester City who conceded six.
Last season, the Bees gained a reputation for exploiting a fast start from kick-offs, with Andrews’ methods said to be partly responsible for the strategy.
In three successive league matches between 14-28 September – Manchester City (away), Tottenham (away) and West Ham (home) – they scored after 22 seconds, 23 seconds and 38 seconds.
In Brentford’s next game – a 5-3 home win over Wolves on 5 October – Nathan Collins scored after 76 seconds.
“What I would say from my time working with him is that he kept things relatively simple in the way he viewed the game as a player,” adds Upson. “He would do the simple things really well and he would like to play forwards quickly.
“With how he sees the game and how he thinks as a coach, his style definitely suits Brentford and follows on relatively seamlessly from how Thomas Frank set them up, and how they already play.”
