Brentford boss Thomas Frank is taking inspiration from Sunday’s opponents West Ham
Brentford manager Thomas Frank takes inspiration from back-to-back continental semi-finals against Sunday’s opponents West Ham – if the Bees dream of Europe next season
- West Ham defeated AZ Alkmaar 2–1 in first leg Europa Conference League semi-final
- Brentford offers European qualification just two years after promotion
- Thomas Frank admitted that he looked up to West Ham as an inspiring club
Thomas Frank says West Ham’s exploits in the Europa Conference League have made him dream of doing the same with Brentford one day.
The Bees have been battling for European qualification this season and still have a very slim chance of doing so with three games left in the Premier League.
Frank’s side will take on the Hammers on Sunday afternoon, who are in between their two Conference League semi-finals after beating AZ Alkmaar 2-1 at the London Stadium on Thursday.
And Frank says it’s encouraging to see West Ham, who endured an otherwise disappointing Premier League campaign, battle for European trophies after also reaching the semi-finals of the Europa League last season.
“I think we all dream, and I think it’s fantastic to see them play in Europe,” said Brentford boss Frank.
Thomas Frank has admitted that he takes inspiration from West Ham in his side’s European hunt
Brentford was one of the surprise packs of the season – upsetting everyone ahead of them
Moyes’ team has reached a European semi-final for the second time in a row and leads overall
“It is very nice and a good ambition for us. But I have to say, next season is a new season. We don’t know what will happen for us, or what we will look like. We always try to add layers and do better.
“But I think the way people judged us before the season was that we didn’t have a chance to push to Europe, and now we’re in a situation where we talk about that quite a bit.
What will happen next season? Don’t know. But of course I like to dream about that.’
Brentford have spent eight-figure sums on three players this season – Aaron Hickey, Keane Lewis-Potter and Mikkel Damsgaard – and that will be four when Kevin Schade’s loan deal is made permanent in the summer.
Giorgio Furlani, the CEO of AC Milan, who is also in a European semi-final after being beaten by rivals Inter in the first leg of their Champions League tie, claimed earlier this week that his club is being outbid for players by the likes of Brighton. Bournemouth and Frank’s Brentford.
And while Frank admitted the lavish Premier League TV deal could help English clubs thrive in Europe due to their financial advantages in some areas compared to European giants like Milan, he believes his side could continue to improve without it having to use money to spend a lot.
Brentford won at the London Stadium earlier this season and hopes to repeat that trick at home
“Of course I don’t know exactly what examples he uses, or how high the wage bill is compared to, say, us or the others,” Frank said in response to Furlani’s suggestion.
“But I think it’s fair to say the TV deal is bigger here. I don’t know how much bigger it is compared to Italy, but probably a lot.
“I think it is with every team. I think it’s still important to get some freshness in it. If we bring in one or two players, that would be good.
“I think we’ve had some very good signings that I think will get even better.
“But we have a good team and hopefully if they can all add 5% that’s a lot.”