BEES ON SLIDE
We take a look at Brentford’s fortunes since Dean Smith’s departure
WHEN Dean Smith left Brentford to take over at boyhood club Aston Villa in early October, it was a big blow for the Bees.
But no-one could have guessed at that time just how much the Griffin Park outfit would suffer in the next couple of months without manager Smith and assistant head coach Richard O’Kelly at the helm.
The Bees decided to appoint from within, handing the job to fellow assistant head coach Thomas Frank. The 45-yearold Dane, a former manager of Brondby in his homeland, had joined the west London club in late 2016.
The idea was to maintain stability and bring continuity at a club who have established themselves as a top-ten Championship outfit.
But it hasn’t worked – so far. Heading into tomorrow night’s tough clash at promotion-chasing West Brom, the Bees are in freefall with just one win from Frank’s seven matches in charge.
The other six have ended in defeat, all by a single-goal margin. It has seen Brentford plunge from seventh in the table to 18th. They are now only three points above the drop zone and in danger of getting sucked into a relegation battle.
Danger
To be fair to Frank, results had started to slip before he took the hotseat. The Bees had failed to win in Smith’s last five games in charge, albeit with four of those games ending in draws.
All told, it means they have picked up just seven points from a possible 36. The days of mid-September when they were second in the table seem a long time ago.
What’s strange is that it’s the same group of players and they’re playing for a new manager they already know. It’s not as if someone new has come in and has had to get to know the players or make radical changes.
Perhaps the influence of Smith, and O’Kelly, was a lot greater than was realised and their departure has left the players, perhaps even subconsciously, feeling deflated.
Perhaps the fact they were already in a slight dip left an air of uncertainty and confidence has suffered with each successive reverse.
Perhaps Frank was effective as an assistant head coach, but has found it tougher in that number one role. Or the players have their doubts.
Whatever the reason, or reasons, the Bees badly need to get back on track as soon as possible – and Frank is determined to be the man who guides them back on course.
After Tuesday’s night 3-2 defeat at home against promo- tion-chasing Sheffield United, the Bees boss made it clear he’s got no intention of throwing in the towel.
“I think it feels like we work so hard to score a goal and then every time we score, (he clicks his fingers), the opposition score,” he said. “That’s tough to take, but there’s one way out of it – face it. Don’t feel sorry for ourselves, work hard, get our heads down, do the job, make sure we stick together - and that’s everybody: the staff, the players, the club, the fans.”
Against the high-pressing Blades, the Bees looked suspect defensively from balls slung into the box, while they were also in danger of getting caught on the break.
Their 4-3-3 formation is an attacking one and they are not the biggest or most physical side. They want to get the ball down and play, and have had plenty of success in doing that in recent times, but their rivals know that too and are adjusting their game.
With the players they’ve got, it’s difficult for Brentford to change their style, though they may have to be a little bit more pragmatic to end this sticky patch.
“If you’d said to me after seven games that we’d have lost six, I’d have said, nah, never, ever, ever in my life, not with this group of players, not with this staff, not with this club, never, but this is the status after seven games and we need to look into that, we need to improve and we need to get better,” said Frank.
“We’ve lost six games by one goal. You can see that sometimes it’s fine margins that define the game and why is it one goal? It’s because they show big heart, big character and a willingness to run, but we need to learn.
“We need to learn to control games and when we are suffering, sometimes to take a break, we can’t go forward all the time. We need to find the right balance against the teams we are up against.
“I think it’s not a problem of formation. It’s about the distances in the team and the compactness, and that’s an area where we are struggling a little bit because we are chasing.
“When you are chasing, and
chasing in the next game and the next game, it’s very difficult to keep that balance and we need the players to understand that during the game.”
The Bees have two highly-rated youngsters at the heart of their defence – Welsh international Chris Mepham and England U21 man Ezri Konsa, both 21.
They are giving their all, but getting little protection from the men in front of them.
“They are going to be Premier League players,” said Frank, “but right now they are of course making some mistakes. They need to learn quick - they need to learn damn quick. It’s not only them, it’s the whole team. We need as a team to take much more responsibility.
“Sometimes when you get in a bad spell, everything becomes a bigger problem on and off the pitch. That’s what we need to minimise, control and improve.”
Brentford are badly in need of a result, Frank is badly in need of a result. In the cutthroat world of football management, results are king and the Bees ain’t getting them.
Not many will be tipping them to win at West Brom on the back of their recent form, but Frank is optimistic.
“Every game is a new opportunity to get three points, that’s the beauty of this game,” he said.
“It’s going to be a very tough game, but every game in the Championship is.
“It doesn’t matter if we play West Brom home or away, or Bolton or Norwich. The next game is a new opportunity for us to step up – and we need to step up.”