'Bullshitter' or the Bees-Knees? The jury still out on Brentford boss Keith Andrews
Happy clappy Andrews.(Image: 2025 Getty Images)When it comes to point-scoring, Martin O’Neill is world class. Ask Keith Andrews.The former Celtic boss has never knowingly passed up a verbal counter-attack, especially when armed with a microphone and a memory.You could give him a 1-0 lead in diplomacy and he’d still find a way to make it 3-1 before full-time, because for O’Neill, settling scores isn’t so much a pastime as a competitive sport.And as Andrews has learned, once he’s on the receiving end, you’re playing on his pitch, by his rules, under his floodlights.Their feud began with Andrews being a ‘vitriolic critic’ of O’Neill’s when the Derry-man was Ireland manager. Fair game in punditry, you’d think. But O’Neill, never one to let things lie, fired back with both barrels: calling Andrews “a failed player” before taking aim at the Brentford manager's high opinion of himself.“If he had a tenth of the ability that his confidence suggested, he’d be alongside Guardiola,” said O'Neill, point scoring again, something he struggled desperately to do in his final year in charge of Ireland, when they ended their Nations League campaign with two draws from four matches.Martin O'Neill(Image: Robbie Jay Barratt - AMA/Getty Images)This, however, isn't just a clash of egos. It's generational. Old-school versus new wave. O’Neill, forged in the fire of Brian Clough’s Nottingham Forest, stands for grit and experience. Andrews represents analysis, data, powerpoint presentations and buzzwords.“A bullshitter,” was Roy Keane’s assessment of the Brentford manager.Like O’Neill, Keane is a heavyweight in punditry, his words carrying weight because of his impeccable playing credentials, as well as a willingness to call it as he sees it.Bear all this in mind then when you assess what Andrews has done since succeeding Thomas Frank.He took over the Brentford job in June after a period as the club’s set‐piece specialist — a role in which he made concrete statistical impact: his side scored 13 goals from set‐plays in 2024-25 and conceded only three from dead-ball situations in the Premier League, the best in the division.While that track record was the springboard for his promotion, his historic barbs at O’Neill and Keane’s management was a launchpad for their intense focus.The Dubliner has been up against it from the start. Inexperience is one thing; bringing O’Neill and Keane’s attention upon himself, another.There’s nowhere to hide in a Premier League dug out which is why his start to life as a manager, three wins and a draw from eight games, can be considered a solid beginning.From the moment he got the job, you could sense Andrews is a teacher. In his opening press conference he spoke of wanting “a team that the fans feel represents them… winning football, competitive … dynamic, relentless … but organised."That ambition is laudable, and squarely in keeping with Brentford’s identity. The problem — always — is how effectively that ambition translates across 38 rather than a mere eight Premier League matches.On the plus side, there are real signs of continuity with the Frank era.His key message is not “reinvent” but “evolve”.He has inherited a squad trimmed of major names (Bryan Mbeumo, Christian Nørgaard) yet still effective. So Andrews’s challenge is to maintain what worked and, crucially, to build what didn’t yet fully exist.The early evidence is mixed. On the one hand, this week's 2-0 away win over West Ham United was described by Andrews as the “most complete performance of the season”.That suggests progress: control, volume of chances (22 attempts to 7) and energy. On the other hand, the 3-1 defeat at Fulham F.C. exposed flaws in “managing the games within the game” — conceding two goals in 98 seconds, one from a throw-in, in a period they should have been steadier.His strengths are clear. Andrews is detail-oriented, apparently respected by players, and aligned with the club’s data-driven, high-intensity template.Keith Andrews celebrates a Brentford victory with Nathan Collins.(Image: 2025 Getty Images)But the caution flags are real. Brentford’s away form, in particular, is patchy while the question of tactical flexibility looms: can Andrews adapt when things don’t go to plan?So yes, Andrews is exactly the kind of appointment that makes sense at Brentford — low risk, internal hire, continuity of process rather than personality-driven overhaul. But continuity can be a double-edged sword: the Premier League is unforgiving for anything less than incremental progress. The danger is that evolution becomes stagnation.All of this matters because Andrews is just the seventh Republic of Ireland player to become a Premier League manager this century. We need him to succeed as Irish managers regularly equate to Irish players getting opportunities.Think David O’Leary and his promotion of Stephen McPhail and Alan Maybury to his Leeds team prior to Robbie Keane getting signed; think McCarthy and his gang of four at Wolves: Kevin Foley, Kevin Doyle, Andy Keogh and Stephen Ward.Andrews, too, has continued that trend, Caoimhin Kelleher rescued from the Anfield bench to join him at Brentford. Nathan Collins is the club captain. The longer you have an Ireland manager in the Premier League, the likelier it is for Irish players to have a career upgrade.That’s why we could do with Keith Andrews becoming the next Brendan Rodgers, or, indeed, a new Martin O'Neill.Whether his personality is liked or not, the last thing Irish football needs is this Artane boy canned for being a managerial failure.Yes, he gives off the impression of being The Bees-knees.Is he? Or is he the bullshitter Keane proclaimed him to be in a 2020 interview?It's too early to say. The jury is still out.
