FRANKLY SUPERB

Thomas Frank is showing that his Brentford side are no one-season wonders

- Thomas Frank

Having secured a third consecutive season in the Premier League, and with it a push for qualification for European competition, Brentford manager Thomas Frank has begun to be associated with other jobs. When Tottenham Hotspur parted company with Antonio Conte, Frank was touted as his possible replacement. This is what so-called smaller clubs have always been up against: do well and you face being asset stripped. Not that Frank’s head has been turned by gossip, as he quickly distanced himself from the speculation. Hard work and humility are central to his ethos.

The Bees are no strangers to having their best talent plucked from forces higher up the football food chain. Under Matthew Benham’s ownership, players have regularly left without damaging the club’s cause. Forwards Ollie Watkins, Said Benrahma and Neal Maupay have all been sold for profits in excess of £20 million, while goalkeeper David Raya could do likewise this summer.

For Frank and his coaching staff, this is all part of the challenge of managing a club that continues to be underestimated, even despite wins over Arsenal, Liverpool, Chelsea and Manchester United in their two seasons in the Premier League. Pragmatic and adaptable, the Dane is the perfect fit for England’s overachievers. 

The club’s 13th place finish in the 2021-22 campaign massively exceeded expectations for many outsiders. Any talk of a one-season wonder was quickly dismissed, with the previous points tally of 46 exceeded by the end of April this term. Not bad for the so-called “bus stop in Hounslow”, as their fans ironically describe themselves.