Thomas Frank steps into the room, having just finished a meeting with his coaching staff, analysts and the club’s performance director Ben Ryan. The topic of the meeting was to discuss next season, even though there is much to play for.
“I invited everyone in, to look a little bit back in the season,” he tells Sky Sports. “We looked into the good bits of what we did this season, then starting to look at to how we can improve.
“I know we have five games to go, so I know this season can be good. It can be very good. It can be exceptional.”
Brentford are outsiders for a European finish after a difficult weekend, even though they did not play. If eighth or ninth could be enough for continental football next season, they would have been damaged by late wins for Fulham and Brighton, plus Crystal Palace reaching the FA Cup final.
It means Thursday’s trip to Nottingham Forest, live on Sky Sports, is pretty much must-win if Brentford are to stay in the race for Europe. “We need to get a result there,” the Brentford boss says.
Thursday 1st May 7:00pm
Kick off 7:30pm
“It’s definitely a good season no matter what, of course it would be a little bit flat if we lose the last five! But we won’t. We won’t, I’m quite sure of that!”
The Bees travel to a Forest side undergoing the season of their life, even despite a recent blip in results. Should Nuno Espirito Santo’s side win they will climb back up to third spot – which is a far cry from their situation last season.
Thursday’s contest at the City Ground is between the teams who finished 16th and 17th in the Premier League last term. Brentford ended up seven points ahead of the side who were promoted to the top flight one year after their own Championship play-off success in 2021.
Forest have a lot more in their corner than Brentford – a huge fanbase, legacy and reputation with the history of winning European Cups under Brian Clough. But is there any reason why Brentford cannot replicate what Forest are currently doing in the near future?
“No,” says the club’s head coach. “But I think you can only do that for one season.
“It’s tricky. Do you want to be a European club, but what is a European club? Is that every year? If it is, then it depends on the size of the club, where the budget would need to be fairly linked to it. Money talks.
“The good thing for us is culture, strategy, hard work, clear principles and style of play – all those things we do quite well. It can raise your level – and it has raised our level.
“But I think we can have one top season. Then there will be others where it will be good – but not enough to push into that top European company.”
One of Frank’s key mantras is the need to “add layers” each season. “No matter what,” he says. You hear the Danish coach say that phrase a lot over the course of the season. “It’s difficult to go from A to B, it has to be a process.
“We have added layers in three out of the four seasons in the Premier League. The third season we could have done it anyway, but the injuries hindered us.”
And those layers are clear on the pitch. First, Frank has made a shift this season to solely playing a back four. “I was bored of playing a back five,” he says.
But there are also individual signs of layers being added, not just the collective growth. It has not gone unnoticed how new Brentford players tend to start slowly then grow into form.
Keane Lewis-Potter’s £20m move from Hull was initially deemed a waste of money, but he is now thriving at left-back, even with Rico Henry fit again. Kevin Schade is a much better player than on his arrival two years ago, while Nathan Collins had an error-strewn debut campaign last term, but now is the first name on the team sheet.
“Two things are very important,” says Frank about this trend. “We have patience, which is a word that you can’t say too much in football.
“You’re working with human beings, they are not robots. They need to feel confident, trusted and all that. Of course they need to perform, but that patience is key.
“We bought those players for a reason – because they’re good enough and they’ve shown that and more.
“And the other thing is we are really good at developing players!”
So who is next on the list? Frank branded Igor Thiago, Fabio Carvalho and B-team player Yehor Yarmoliuk as the next to come through. “Those could be the next three lined up to give me the headaches. That’s the worst bit of this job, I can only pick 11!”
But does any future success rely on keeping the best stars, most notably Bryan Mbeumo, who has stepped into the Ivan Toney void by scoring 18 Premier League goals this season. “And counting,” Frank says.
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We take a look at Bryan Mbeumo’s greatest Premier League goals
Brentford are not averse to selling top talent with David Raya and Toney moving in recent years – but there is a difference with Mbeumo. The Bees had already signed Mark Flekken prior to Raya’s departure to Arsenal, while Toney was not involved in the team when he left for Saudi Arabia, with Yoane Wissa an internal blow softener.
“I’m the head coach, I want my best players to stay forever,” says Frank. “I know that Bryan is very happy being here at Brentford, he’s thriving, doing well and playing fantastic. What happens in the future? I don’t know.
“I’ve said many times: we are a selling club. But at the same time we have to reinforce that there are 10 clubs in the world who aren’t selling clubs.
“So, of course, if the right price – and that’s going to be expensive – is coming, then I’m sure the club will be open for it. But I’m very happy he’s here, and I’m convinced that Bryan will still be happy playing football here.”
But is there a point over the next few seasons where that could change? “There could,” Frank replied. After all, Brighton – who sold hundreds of millions worth of talent, mostly to Chelsea – decided last summer to keep hold of their starlets – and invest nearly £200m into summer signings.
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FREE TO WATCH: Highlights from Brentford’s match against Brighton in the Premier League
“We are just a few years behind Brighton. About four years in that development, if we were to take them as an example,” says Frank.
“There have definitely been situations in the past where we’ve said no, when clubs have knocked on our door.
“I expect that to be the same in the future, where we say: no, we are not selling, we want to keep the players and keep developing the team, or it’s not the right time for the player to move on to something different.
“We are in a fantastic time in Brentford history, I’m sure the fans are enjoying it and I’m definitely enjoying it. And I think we can push even more, so we should do that.”
There are signs that Brentford will stand firm again this summer, as Mbeumo is not the only player linked with a summer exit.
Forest made a bid for Mbeumo’s partner in crime Wissa during the January transfer window, while there was interest in Schade from Borussia Dortmund. Both sagas could resume in the summer.
Meanwhile, reports from Germany have linked goalkeeper Flekken with a move to Bayer Leverkusen, while the form of Mikkel Damsgaard – who has 10 assists to his name this term, the same tally as Bruno Fernandes and one more than Cole Palmer – may engage interest.
“If we sell any players, I expect it to be very few,” says Frank.
“This is a group where some of these players have been together for some time, but there has also been change which I also think is good and healthy.
“I expect more or less the same squad for next season.”
Watch Nottingham Forest vs Brentford live on Sky Sports on Thursday night from 7pm; kick-off 7:30pm
