As Keith Andrews is announced as Brentford's new head coach, football writer Alex Keble chronicles the Irishman's journey from midfield leader to set-piece specialist.
Brentford have promoted their set-piece coach Keith Andrews to the role of head coach, choosing once again to ignore the managerial merry-go-round and hire from within.
It has worked spectacularly for them before. Thomas Frank was the assistant manager to Dean Smith and had never previously had a head coach role before he was handed the reins in 2018.
Brentford will be hoping they can unearth another gem in Andrews.
The 44-year-old does have pedigree. He is widely celebrated as Brentford’s set-piece coach and has also enjoyed a leadership role as a player too.
Here’s a look at Andrews’ career so far.
Andrews named Brentford head coach - see why he was appointed
Captaincy, clutch moments, and international success
A dependable midfielder, Andrews' playing career had plenty of highs that bode well for a career in management.
He became Wolverhampton Wanderers' youngest captain for over a century at the age of 21 in 1999, before captaining MK Dons when they secured promotion to the Championship and won the Football League Trophy in the same season of 2007/08.
Andrews scored the match-winning goal that clinched promotion and the opener in the final: clutch moments that speak to his leadership.
He also earned 35 caps for Republic of Ireland, which included playing in all three of their group matches at UEFA Euro 2012 (below, right).
Despite being sent off at the end of their final match against Italy, he was named Irish Player of the Year for 2012.
Set-piece coach with innovative kick-off routines
Brentford fans know Andrews as a set-piece guru – and that certainly cannot be doubted.
Since Andrews’ appointment at the beginning of last season, Brentford rank third in the Premier League for set-piece Expected Goals (xG), with 16.71, and joint-fifth for goals, with 13.
More impressively, Andrews has led Brentford’s innovation in kick-off routines, leading to three goals inside the opening 40 seconds in three successive Premier League matches.
Against Manchester City, Tottenham Hotspur and West Ham United, Andrews designed a kick-off routine that involved racing quickly down one flank and crossing into the box, with attackers hanging around centre-back Kristoffer Ajer to win second balls.
That it worked three times shows Andrews’ attention to detail and ability to keep opponents guessing. Finding innovation here, in his first set-piece job, hints at a keen tactical mind.
A burgeoning coaching career that goes beyond set-pieces
Andrews began his coaching career in 2015/16 at MK Dons under Karl Robinson, staying a year before later becoming Stephen Kenny’s assistant at Ireland Under-21s and then the senior side, staying in the role between 2020 and 2023.
He left to become Chris Wilder’s assistant at Sheffield United, leaving at the end of the 2023/24 season to link up with Frank at Brentford.
Andrews, then, has worked with a range of coaches and in senior coaching positions; he is much more than “just” a set-piece coach.
Indeed he is known as a technical coach who worked one-to-one with players at Brentford, going beyond his role as a set-piece specialist.
“Keith’s strict,” Brentford defender Nathan Collins said back in March, after Andrews was credited with the Bees exploiting AFC Bournemouth’s aerial vulnerabilities.
“He’s great off the pitch, very jokey, good lad and craic. On it, he’s loud, you can hear him on the pitch.”
Another Brentford discovery – with a rebuild to do
Andrews’ playing and coaching career suggests he is suited to management, and of course history tells us not to doubt Brentford’s decision making.
Even leaving Frank aside, previous Brentford coaches have gone on to bigger and better things, most notably Nicolas Jover, the Arsenal set-piece coach pinched from the Bees.
That’s a good omen, although Andrews, the ninth Irishman to manage in the Premier League, has quite the task on his hands.
Frank took assistants Justin Cochrane and Chris Haslam and analyst Joe Newton with him to Spurs, while assistant Claus Norgaard has also left Brentford.
It’s a big ask of someone beginning their managerial career in the Premier League.
