Keith Andrews’ tactics have done the most unexpected thing for Brentford – they’ve helped maintain what had been so painstakingly built over recent years, kept the club sitting comfortably in the Premier League table and proved that it wasn’t merely Thomas Frank’s brilliance that had made the club tick.
But how did Brentford know who to appoint when clubs like Manchester United and Tottenham go through managers at a furious pace, trying to find out? And what exactly are those tactical tweaks that Andrews has brought to Brentford?
Here are my answers to those questions, along with a recommendation to use your Premier League fantasy football knowledge in the fantasy football game of FootballCoin (link included below).
Pre-managerial career
Like his predecessor, Thomas Frank, Keith Andrews wasn’t quite a household name before being the manager of Brentford. Unlike Frank, Andrews did have more Premier League experience, earned as a player.
In fact, perhaps I am underselling it. Andrews was a tough, dependable defensive midfielder who earned 35 caps for Ireland and scored three goals in international football. At the club level, Andrews has worked for a host of EPL and lower-tier clubs.
Highlights include his time spent at Wolves, during the early years of his career, three EPL campaigns as a starting player for Blackburn Rovers, and a short stint at West Bromwich Albion.
While not a star, Andrews’ long career must surely place him within the top 20% of players who’ve been active in the English football system.
Andrews’ reputation and likely football intelligence earned him backroom staff roles as soon as he quit the game as a player. He worked for the Ireland national team and Sheffield United. He had been the set-piece coach for Brentford since 2024.
Thomas Frank’s intention to leave the club must’ve been known inside the club for some time. However, it was for many a surprise when the club announced Andrews as his replacement at the start of the 2025/26 season. Thus far, the results have proven the team’s hierarchy right.
Football Philosophy
Let me quickly remind readers what Frank brought to this Brentford side that has consistently punched above its weight since joining the EPL. Thomas Frank likes his team to play direct, intense, attacking football.
However, this philosophy worked, in part due to Brentford’s now-famous backroom staff involvement. The club’s scouting department, in particular, deserves praise for finding players capable of performing this kind of tactical plan.
What about Keith Andrews? First of all, of course, Andrews has been chosen because he is capable of building on the foundations laid out in recent years. Secondly, short appearances in the media reveal that Andrews possesses great tactical knowledge and the ability to explain his plan in a simple, concise way.
What is that plan exactly? Andrews likes to have Brentford’s players exploit quick counter-attacking moves and press intensely. The team’s pressing is aggressive and high up the pitch, focused on blocking the middle lanes.
Just as importantly, Andrews is proving himself to be a genuine expert in man-management. He has encouraged his players’ individualism, and the squad has quickly bought into his instructions.
Brentford in Defence
If Brentford has shone in any particular area this season, it’s their defence. Yet, the stats don’t prove this fully. At the time of writing, the team has conceded 17 goals in 11 matches, placing them in the bottom half of the table for this stat. However, the team may well improve in this respect.
Andrews’ preferred formation is a nimble 4-2-3-1. When out of possession, the players often look to press man-to-man and try to bring in bodies into the centre of the pitch.
Oftentimes, one of the central defenders, usually Sepp van den Berg, will move up, creating an almost 3-4-4 shape. In this setup, veteran Jordan Henderson’s ability to block passing lanes is utilised to great effect.
Henderson is able to protect the half-spaces and is often the one to initiate pressing triggers when Brentford’s opponents are forced to play out wide.
The team’s dynamism has often helped overcome the shortcomings of this kind of tactic. I suppose that it’s obvious what happens when this system fails. Of course, teams that move past the press with quick wingers, using through balls played for the attacker, or through a false nine operating between the lines, can find themselves in good goal-scoring opportunities quite easily.
When defending a lead, Andrews tends to have his players drop into a rigid 5-3-2 formation that is difficult to break down.
What about the stats that I was mentioning earlier? Brentford has conceded 17 goals, but has an xGA of just 13.3. Furthermore, Brenford’s defenders, particularly Berg, alongside Kristoffer Ajer, and Michael Kayode, have generally strong stats. The team can still improve on this front.
Bretford’s Possession Stats
What about getting the ball forward? Am I suggesting that everything is done through winning back the ball in dangerous areas?
Yes and no. You won’t find these Brentford attackers failing to press the opposition keeper or defenders when they try to build up from the back.
At the start of the season, Andrews looked to take advantage of other teams’ willingness to play high lines, but their relative lack of dynamism. Defender would simply play long balls onto the flanks or toward striker Igor Thiago (a free card in FootballCoin), acting as a target man. In fact, the young Brazilian has been Brentford’s star player this season.
But what did Brentford do when opponents figured out its tactical plan? It adapted. In recent games, Brentford has had more possession, often playing a short passing game in the opposition’s own half. This is what happened, in my estimation, in the recent 3-1 victory against Newcastle.
Note that goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher makes the most long passes. Henderson and the defenders are next. However, most of them have a completion rate of around 40% and the team has the ability to battle back for possession immediately once the ball has been lost.
Van den Berg provides the most interesting statistical anomaly. The Dutch defender has completed 75% of his long passes, making him a real asset to Brentford’s style of play.
Brentford in Attack
Route one football? Oftentimes, yes, but not always.
And, considering the current level of the Premier League, playing this kind of direct football involves a few key ingredients: great fitness, good tactical awareness, quick wingers, and a powerful attacker up top. Currently, Brenftord have precisely this kind of personnel.
Igor Thiago has scored eight goals for Brentford. He’s been integral to the way the team plays. And, once again, bringing him in from Club Brugge for just 33 million euros has proven that the club can rely on one of the best scouting departments in the league.
More often than not, Brentford likes to break on the counterattack using long balls toward Dango Outtara, who is used almost as an inside forward or a pacey winger. Thiago’s physicality and excellent finishing are used in front of goal.
What about set pieces? This, after all, was what Andrews was initially brought in to do. Brentford is one of the EPL teams that tries to exploit these opportunities most of all, but four of its seventeen goals have been scored this way.
What Next for Keith Andrews and Brentford?
World domination? Even I find it hard to tell. But I also doubt that Brentford, a club that has made such smart decisions in the past, will have seen something special in Andrews’ abilities.
So far, Andrews has managed to gently tweak the team’s tactics all while, for the most part, retaining the club’s strong results intact. With more time and a similarly efficient recruitment strategy, why can’t Andrews achieve similar things as his predecessor, Thomas Frank?
