Keith Andrews: From Set-Piece Coach to Brentford's Main Man
Keith Andrews was never meant to be the headline act at Brentford. A solid Premier League midfielder with Blackburn and West Brom, 35 caps for the Republic of Ireland, and a reputation as a diligent thinker about the game, yes. The man to step into Thomas Frank’s shoes and drag the club back towards Europe? That felt a stretch.
It doesn’t anymore.
From set-piece specialist to main man
Andrews built his coaching career the hard way. No shortcuts, no grand unveilings. He started alongside Karl Robinson at MK Dons, learning the rhythms of club football from the touchline rather than the centre circle. Then came international work with Stephen Kenny, first with Ireland’s U21s and then the senior side, before a spell under Chris Wilder at Sheffield United added another layer of tactical edge.
By the time Brentford brought him in as set-piece coach in 2023, he had already seen the game from almost every angle. Still, his promotion two years later stunned plenty across the Premier League. The club, faced with replacing the Tottenham-bound Thomas Frank in the summer of 2025, turned inward rather than chasing a big external name. They handed the reins to the quietly spoken Irishman in the background.
Eyebrows shot up. Some of them inside the division.
Silencing the relegation talk
The doubts didn’t last long. Andrews walked into a dressing room many expected to slide backwards and simply refused to follow the script. Any early whispers about a relegation fight were quickly drowned out by the noise of results.
Brentford didn’t just survive. They surged.
He guided the club to a ninth-place finish last season, steering them into the top half while others with bigger budgets floundered. Europe was close enough to touch, only slipping away agonisingly late on, but the tone around the club had shifted. This wasn’t a team clinging on after losing a hugely influential manager. It was a team that believed it could push on again.
Inside the club, the board responded with commitment: a long-term contract through to 2032. Outside it, the question is different. If Andrews keeps rising at this pace, who tries to prise him away?
Morrison’s verdict: “Amazing, amazing, amazing”
One man watching his ascent with particular pride is former Brentford striker Clinton Morrison, a close friend of Andrews and a keen observer of the club’s evolution.
Speaking to GOAL, Morrison did not bother to play down his admiration. “Amazing, amazing, amazing,” he said when asked to assess Andrews’ work. In his view, Brentford are not just aiming high; they’re within striking distance. “I think Brentford have a chance of, even this season, getting them outside spots of Europe. They missed out last season. And they could win a cup.”
Morrison had caught up with Andrews around the Birmingham-Brentford game and came away even more convinced. “I just think Keith's done a fantastic job,” he said. The key, in his eyes, is depth. Real, competitive depth.
“He's got two players in every position,” Morrison pointed out, before running through the squad that has been quietly reshaped under Andrews’ watch.
Building a squad that can punch up
Brentford’s recruitment has rarely been about noise. It’s about fit, value, and upside. Under Andrews, that approach has continued, but with a sharper edge.
Morrison highlighted Mamadou Sangare as a symbol of that progress. “The boy who they signed, [Mamadou] Sangare, he could have easily gone to any of the top four teams. I think he's a special talent. He went to Brentford. He likes their project and they’ve got a good signing.”
When a player with options at the top of the table chooses Brentford, it says something about the direction of travel.
Up front, Andrews has blended experience and competition. “He's got Callum Wilson’s experience - puts pressure on Thiago,” Morrison noted, underlining how the veteran striker raises standards for those around him. On the flanks, the story is similar. “[Jaidon] Anthony, who they signed from Burnley, started the season well - puts pressure on [Dango] Ouattara, Kevin Schade, competition.”
The message is clear: no one coasts. Every shirt is earned.
Even big-money arrivals are not guaranteed a place. “They signed [El Hadji Malick] Diouf for 40 million from West Ham - can't get a game at the moment,” Morrison said. In another setup, that fee might demand automatic selection. Under Andrews, it doesn’t. Form and function rule.
And then there is Keane Lewis-Potter, flourishing in this environment. “Keane Lewis-Potter has been outstanding,” Morrison added. Across the pitch, he sees a squad packed with options and ambition. “So they have a lot of good players there at Brentford.”
From doubts to demand
The contrast with the mood a year ago is stark. “Considering last season, the players that they lost and losing Thomas Frank, everyone thought Brentford might get relegated,” Morrison recalled. Instead, Andrews stabilised, then accelerated.
“He's done a great job. And this season, they started ever so well. Huge credit to Keith,” he said.
That start, combined with last season’s ninth-place finish, is changing the way the rest of the league looks at both manager and club. Andrews is no longer just the internal solution or the ex-midfielder turned set-piece coach who got a shot. He is a serious Premier League manager building a serious Premier League side.
Morrison expects the attention to grow. “If he carries on going like that, there'll be a lot of other clubs higher up sniffing around him, for sure.”
Brentford have locked him in on paper until 2032. The real battle, if this trajectory holds, may be convincing him that the biggest stage he can reach is the one he is already standing on.
