WE ARE THE BEES KNEES
Mat: No reason we can’t do a Leicester
ON a momentous weekend for football in west London all the romance belonged to Thomas Frank’s Bees – who will finally get a run for their honey.
And as Brentford ended their play-off jinx at the 10th time of asking, finally making it to the Premier League with a victory over Swansea, midfielder Mathias Jensen lauded a model club who have given everyone a licence to dream.
Forget the oligarchs and oil barons parading their obscene wealth in Portugal on Saturday, the pure joy of football is when the tuxedo dinner party is gatecrashed by the boilersuits.
Jensen, whose energy runs through Brentford’s Anglo-danish DNA, insists they will not fear the Premier League monsters. And why should they?
It’s only five years since Leicester’s 5,000-1 long shots won the title – now Brentford can dare to dream.
Jensen said: “The way this club is driven, from (owner) Matthew Benham at the top all the way down, is such an impressive model.
“We don’t use a lot of money in the transfer market but we are so good at scouting and seeing potential in players who deliver when they get the chance.
“This is a very healthy, and well-run club like Leicester and we have shown you can dream. We were not even halfway up the League in terms of our budget.
“To come back to Wembley and win in front of the fans was worth the pain of losing the play-off final last year in an empty stadium.
“I don’t worry about the Premier League and I don’t fear anything. Of course it’s a different level but this club is capable of taking the next step.
“We won’t be favourites to be top-four, but I think we can do well like Leeds did this season after being promoted.”
Bees manager Frank was ‘kidnapped’ midway through a post-match TV interview and tossed into the air by his players – who later drenched him in beer and champagne.
Amid the stag party pranks, you wondered if Frank’s night would end up on the night sleeper to Inverness.
“If I’m not home when my wife wakes up in the morning, she needs to send out a search party,” said Frank – who then resolved to get “very drunk.” After all the previous near misses, Brentford’s rise to the top flight was never in doubt after Ivan Toney’s 33rd goal of the season – his 11th from the penalty spot – and an Emiliano Marcondes strike inside the opening 20 minutes.
Frank, whose coolness will be a welcome addition to the Premier League, agreed Brentford have become role models for small fry who dare to dream.
He said: “The journey this club has been on is absolutely remarkable.
“There should be a lot of clubs out there dreaming that anything is possible. If you work hard, have a clear strategy and a top attitude then everything is achievable.”
For Swansea, who lost Jay Fulton to a red card flourished with indecent haste by Premier League referee Chris Kavanagh, the future is less gilded.
Their parachute money is running out, big-earning top scorer Andre Ayew is out of contract and likely to leave, while on-loan Freddie Woodman, Marc Guehi and Conor Hourihane will now return to their parent clubs.
Manager Steve Cooper said: “Setbacks have got to define you and make you stronger. You either sulk and things get even worse, or you come back fighting even harder.”