Keith Andrews is no stranger to criticism . Roy Keane, for example, is no fan of the Dubliner. “I’ve heard a lot of bullshitters over the last 10 years and Keith Andrews is up there with the best of them,” as he put it a few years back.
His appointment as manager of Brentford in the Premier League has put Andrews in the glare of a spotlight he’s never experienced before. On Monday, former Ireland manager Martin O’Neill offered a cold critique of Andrews.
Speaking on Talksport, O’Neill said: “Good luck to him. I hope he does get the job because he’ll then realise what management is all about. It’s not as easy to be just sitting in a pundit’s chair and just criticising someone who, in all honesty, had a much better career than he had. He was dealing with the bottom end of it when I was winning the European Cup.”
Never change, Martin.
As Simon Jordan, the former Crystal Palace owner, pointed out on the same station, O’Neill, like Keane, has an axe to grind with Andrews. He was critical of both men during their time in charge of the Republic of Ireland. Neither man, as we know, is one for letting bygones be bygones.
There is also the matter of Andrews not being born when O’Neill won the European Cup, so he wasn’t dealing with the bottom end of anything at the time. No matter.
But, yes, welcome to the big time, Keith Andrews.
For a Premier League club to appoint someone who has never managed before is some measure of the impression the 44-year-old has made since joining Brentford as their set-piece coach last year. By all accounts, he also impressed the club’s powers-that-be during his interview for a job Ange Postecoglou and Kieran McKenna were linked to.
He has big shoes to fill. Andrews succeeds Thomas Frank, who was appointed Tottenham Hotspur manager earlier this month. The Dane spent seven years in charge at the club, winning promotion from the Championship in 2021 and guiding the side to a 10th-place finish last season. He’s brought three of his Brentford backroom team with him to Spurs, so Andrews will have to start assembling his own on day one. Damien Duff, though, has dismissed speculation linking him to a role.
Andrews inherits a squad that includes Ireland internationals Nathan Collins and Caoimhín Kelleher, the latter a recent signing from Liverpool. He is, though, likely to lose last season’s top scorer Bryan Mbeumo. Manchester United are expected to up their €70 million bid for the Cameroon international, with Spurs also said to be hovering.
Andrews, who won 35 caps for the Republic of Ireland , had a 15-year playing career in England, making over 400 appearances in all competitions. He started out with Wolves, who he joined from his schoolboy side Stella Maris, and finished up at MK Dons. Upon retiring from playing in 2015, he had a spell as MK Dons assistant manager.
He went on to work as assistant to Stephen Kenny for both the under-21 and senior Republic of Ireland teams, joining Sheffield United’s coaching staff in December 2023 before heading for Brentford.
It’s a daunting challenge for Andrews. There’ll been no end of sceptics, not least among the club’s supporters who might have expected a “bigger” name to succeed Frank. “You look at the fella’s resume and there’s nothing in it,” said Jordan, who never passed a microphone without speaking into it. “This is heavily risky, it seems like a really big punt.”
That, inevitably, will be the narrative around his appointment, but it’s a thrilling opportunity for the Irishman. “I’m just obsessed with football. I never switch off for a second – even when I’m watching a game at home on the sofa, I’m analysing it,” he said when he started his coaching career with MK Dons. “I’m just looking to evolve as I go along and it certainly won’t be through a lack of effort if I don’t get to where I want to go to.”
He’s come a long way since then and now has “Premier League manager” on his CV.
