Seconds before the curtain came down on the 2025/26 season, Brentford had a golden chance to do what they had never done before: qualify for Europe. They were drawing 1-1 with Liverpool at Anfield and knew that one goal would be enough to finish seventh and secure Europa League football. In the 10th minute of added time, Mikkel Damsgaard dropped the ball off to Vitaly Janelt on the left-hand side of the penalty area.
The midfielder hit a cross first time that curled in the most inviting way to the centre of the box. Kevin Schade was waiting for it, but Dango Ouattara got there first - and steered it off target. Keith Andrews put his head in his hands and sank to his knees.
His first season as a head coach had nearly ended in the most perfect way. "I felt that epitomised the journey we'd been on last season, with how we started the season, how we grew into the season," he says, reflecting on that moment just over three months on. "Everybody was so engrossed in our journey and gave absolutely everything.
There was no shame at all from not getting into Europe, but it whetted the appetite pretty nicely for how we would do things going into pre-season. "I sat on holiday and had a chance to think about things with immense pride at what we'd achieved. The next thought, very quickly, was how and where we go again." Speaking to Sky Sports that day, he promised improvement in 2026/27.
"This is a baseline," he said. "We'll continue to push hard." Around a fortnight after that Sunday at Anfield, Andrews was back at base. "There's amazing thinking time you don't normally get on a weekly basis to plan and look at things in a more forensic way," he says.
"You look to improve how we train, how we prepare, what the squad feels like, what the dynamic feels like. Everything where you feel we can get a little bit better. "I felt like we didn't need huge meetings about what this season will be, I just felt it was there day-to-day.
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