Brentford contacted former Tottenham Hotspur head coach Ange Postecoglou about replacing Thomas Frank.
In what would have been an extraordinary sequence of events and effectively a job swap, Brentford considered Postecoglou as an option to succeed Frank, who left to join Tottenham on a three-year deal after they sacked the 59-year-old Australian.
Brentford director of football Phil Giles held informal discussions with Postecoglou but he was not interviewed for the role, as both parties agreed moving forward was not the best option. Other candidates Brentford considered included former Ajax head coach Francesco Farioli, who has now joined Porto, but they instead promoted set-piece coach Keith Andrews.
Postecoglou joined Spurs in June 2023 and he guided them to a fifth-place finish in his first season.
His second year in charge was disrupted by a crippling injury crisis. Spurs lost 22 league matches and finished 17th but won the Europa League after beating Manchester United in the final. Postecoglou delivered Spurs their first piece of silverware in 17 years but he was sacked two weeks after that famous victory in Bilbao. Frank, who had been in charge of Brentford for nearly seven years, replaced Postecoglou.
Andrews, a former Republic of Ireland international, joined Brentford as their set-piece coach last summer and worked under Frank for a year. The 44-year-old’s familiarity with the squad and strong presentation ensured he was the first-choice candidate. Andrews was officially appointed as Brentford’s new head coach on a three-year contract at the end of June.
At an introductory press conference for Andrews, which was held last week, Giles spoke about the hiring process. “There’s always going to be some degree of risk,” Giles said.
“It’s more risky to go and get a coach we don’t know from a club where the environment might be different or maybe people around them made them successful. This is actually quite a low-risk appointment because I know how good Keith is.”
(Justin Tallis/AFP via Getty Images)