Finding the right words under pressure is hard, even for managers who do it every week. PMR tracks how well they manage it in the minutes after a match.
I learned how much those words matter in places where lives were on the line. One of those moments came down to three seconds. I’ll tell you about it at the end.
Every post-match interview Keith Andrews has given in Premier Managers Revealed 2026/27, collected in one place: the quotes, the score out of 12, the Identity level and the analysis, matchweek by matchweek. For the latest standings, see the Premier Managers Revealed league tables.
Matchweek 1
Brentford 3 – 0 Tottenham Hotspur
Saturday 22 August, Gtech Community Stadium
Keith Andrews — Brentford (home)
11/12 · Identity level fed: Belonging
How pleased were you with that all round today?
“Yeah, really pleased. Felt like there was a performance coming. We never really know — pre-seasons can go as well as they can, and then the reality is the Premier League comes, or the first game of the season comes, and it can quickly become unstuck with the level that you’re playing against. But I felt good for a number of weeks now about how we’re looking and how we’re coming together. The signings that we’ve made. And just the cohesion of the team. Yeah, pretty pleased, like I said.”
You set the tone right from the off. The fans responded to that.
“Our fans were amazing today. I met a few of them a few weeks ago around fan engagement, how we can bring that to a new level. I think there’s a genuine connection here between the fans and the players and the club in general. The owners are fans, so that helps. Yeah, I thought we started the game brilliantly, and they were fully engaged.”
And at two-nil, you were still pressing.
“Yeah, we wanna be relentless. We wanna approach the game as aggressive a way as you can, as positive a way as you can. You can’t always do that. You’ve got to take backwards steps at times to take the next step forward. I just thought we looked like a real team tonight.”
Talk to me about your new club record signing, and the standing ovation he got on 75 minutes.
“Yeah, he settled in really well. Again, a couple of pre-season games, and again, it’s pre-season, so you don’t wanna get too excited, but just — again, the cohesion that he brings to the team, the attributes that he has, that add to an already really talented midfield. We’re really happy with him.”
Last year’s top scorer hit the post from a penalty today. How important are goals all around the team going forward?
“It’s really important. He’s a brilliant player. We were very reliant on him last year, and he had an amazing season, obviously, but we wanted to add more goals, and you’ve seen it today with Jaden Anthony coming on, Callum Wilson — two proven Premier League players that will undoubtedly get us goals and really impact the game.”
Are you spurred on by last season, and going again when people say, well, how do you better that?
“I just think it’s a different season, isn’t it? Football’s a soap opera, it’s the reality of it, and there’s always stories within the narrative, and there’s goodies, there’s baddies. You need to live with that — whatever you are dealt, you deal with. And yeah, we’re just in a good place, really.”
Andrews had just beaten Spurs three nil and he kept the answer level. He talks about cohesion, about a squad that has been coming together for weeks, and about a record signing whose attributes add to a midfield he already rates. He is generous about the striker who missed a penalty, calling him a brilliant player who had an amazing season. On the noise around the club he is direct: football is a soap opera, there are goodies and baddies, and whatever you are dealt you deal with. The standard he sets is relentless and aggressive. The week ahead is the only thing he leaves out.
Source: BBC Sport post-match interview, Brentford v Tottenham Hotspur, 22 August 2026. Transcribed from broadcast; obvious transcription artefacts lightly tidied, wording unchanged.
Matchweek 2
Leeds United 1 – 1 Brentford
Sunday 30 August, Elland Road
Keith Andrews – Brentford (away)
12/12 · Identity level fed: Capability & Esteem
I thought first half we were magnificent. We got the lead and possibly could be more but we knew there would be changes. We couldn’t play out through those chaotic stages. It shows where we are at that we are disappointed coming away from Elland Road with a draw.
We laid some really solid foundations last season that we want to build upon and it has been a good start to the season. We looked very calm and confident in the first half. Never underestimate Daniel Farke – the way he sets up the team and the type of players Leeds have – they are very honest bunch. Slightly disappointing to come away with a point but we will probably look back on it and think it is a good point.
We are growing all the time.
Andrews calls Brentford magnificent in the first half and names the calm and confidence that came from last season’s foundations. He credits Leeds and Daniel Farke, then says the disappointment at drawing away from Elland Road shows where Brentford now are. That is a strong compliment to the team’s Capability and Esteem. “We are growing all the time” is enough direction for this interview because it connects the point to an existing process the players already understand.
Source: Sky Sports post-match interview, source page
Matchweek 3
Brentford 1–1 Sunderland
Gtech Community Stadium · Janelt 57′; Le Fée 82′ pen
Keith Andrews (Brentford)
Source: brentfordfc.com; PA / The Irish News; Sunderland Echo
Q: On the 1-1?
It was a game that had a lot in it, that’s for sure. I thought they played well in the first half and we didn’t hit the levels that we have done in recent weeks. That’s why we have a squad, we were able to make changes and I thought the subs coming on and the approach of the squad in the second half was more like us. We got ourselves in front, unfortunately we couldn’t quite see that out and get the three points.
Q: On the tactical battle with Le Bris?
I thought it was a proper game. We’ll have areas where we’re not happy, which I’ve already discussed, but if I’m in the stand or watching that game from afar, I think it’s a proper game of football. It’s what the Premier League is all about. What you’re alluding to is what makes me feel alive: our players going toe-to-toe with a really good team and a good coach, the way he sets them up and the way all those things unfold. Every different aspect of the game was there, from what you do with the ball and without it to everything in between and set-pieces. I thought it was an enthralling game that had so much in it. Yes, I do enjoy that side of it.
Q: On the penalty and the officiating?
I must say, I wasn’t bowled over by some of the officiating today, which, as you know, I rarely say. On that particular one, I felt we could have done better. I don’t tend to go on about the officials too much. I’m certainly not going to discuss them much more than I already have because I’ll talk myself into trouble. I didn’t like the flow of the game today. I thought there were incidents where it wasn’t quite under control and some of the decisions weren’t right for me.
Q: On the second-half improvement?
We caused ourselves a lot of problems. We were better in the second half. We started fighting more, did the ugly side of the game and played with a bit more conviction. There was a real improvement, and I thought the game was there for the taking in the second half. The fact we’re looking round the place and there is a tinge of disappointment. Nothing is given to you in this league – you have to go and earn it.
12/12 · Identity level fed: Capability & Belonging
Andrews tells the players that watching them go toe-to-toe with a very good team makes him feel alive. That is an inspiring reflection of the quality and style they displayed. “We didn’t hit the levels that we have done in recent weeks” makes the first half an exception, while the substitutes came on and produced something “more like us”. Fighting, doing the ugly work and playing with conviction are specific SQAs. This is powerful Identity language, building belief in the team’s intensity, football and ability to respond.
Matchweek 4
Bournemouth 2–2 Brentford
Keith Andrews, Brentford: 5/12
“I’m not wired like that.”
Andrews wants more than a point and keeps his standards high. He identifies problems with conviction, use of the ball and the substitutes’ impact. His description of Schade as “electric” gives one player clear recognition.
The criticism covers several parts of the performance, with little praise for the team’s strengths to balance it. Players hear plenty about what fell short and less about what they can rely on next time. Ambition is useful, but it needs reassurance and a clearer plan to help the group turn these criticisms into a better performance.
Breakdown: Towards 1 · SQAs 1 · Adversity 0 · Identity 1 · Path 1 · Draw Leadership 1
Source: BBC Match of the Day interview, carried by Yahoo News
Matchweek 5
Brentford 3–0 Chelsea
Keith Andrews, Brentford: 12/12
“You work so hard, and there’s so many tough days in the game, and when you play against a West London rival, and you build up to a game, and you go on a bit of a journey with the team. There’s always bumps along the way, but we were in a pretty good place, and it’s nice to see it come to fruition tonight.”
“The way we play, we’re unpredictable, and we can score from different ways, and we can play in different ways. So when we’re in control of games, when we have possession, we can look to create, and we can look to cause chaos for the opposition.”
“With the boys’ habits and the values that we have as a club, and the team and the way we train, it just all comes out. I think consistently you start to see that now and where we’re at as a team.”
“We’ve been competitive, we’ve been brilliant, we’ve had to dig deep, we’ve had to show loads of different traits in the opening weeks of the season.”
“The worst part of being a footballer is when you’re injured and he’s been unbelievable in his approach to it, in his professionalism, and he’s come back really seamlessly into the fold.”
Andrews identifies lasting team qualities: unpredictability, patience, competitive spirit, strong habits and shared club values. Those SQAs explain both the 3–0 win and the team’s broader start.
He also handles adversity well. The “bumps” belong to a journey, while Fabio Carvalho’s injury is answered with evidence of professionalism, sharpness and strength. Andrews enjoys the derby win while keeping the players focused on the habits that produced it. I wish I could give him 14 points. His refreshing enthusiasm and energy are enough to inspire his players. I am sure they love playing for him and would run through a brick wall for him.
Breakdown: Towards 2 · SQAs 2 · Adversity 2 · Identity 2 · Path 2 · Good Winner* 2
Source: BBC Sport post-match interview.
Matchweek 6
Aston Villa 2–2 Brentford
Saturday 10 October 2026, Villa Park, Birmingham.
Keith Andrews, Brentford: 11/12
Identity level: Belonging and Purpose.
There was a little bit of rustiness from some of our play, Players have been away, two-thirds of the squad maybe, for the best part of three weeks. You’re trying to bring them back onto our page as quickly as possible over the last couple of days, how we play, how we do things, what we do.
The grit, the resilience, some of our play was really good at times. The reaction to going 2-1 down to come back, and then I think if we had been ourselves in the last 10 or 15 minutes, there were opportunities where we could have gone and won the game.
Rustiness is a lovely word for it. Rust comes off with a bit of work, so the problem Andrews names is already on its way out as he says it. That’s Fleeting. He tells them where it came from as well, three weeks away with two-thirds of the squad on international duty, so none of it sticks to the players. Then he tells them what they are, grit and resilience, and those don’t wear off. That’s Lasting, and with the two together he’s got both halves of the Elevate Formula. He drops a mark on Path, though, because he never says what those last ten or fifteen minutes should have looked like.
Breakdown: Towards 2 · SQAs 2 · Adversity 2 · Identity 2 · Path 1 · Draw Leadership 2 · 11/12
Source: Brentford FC.
Matchweek 7
Brentford 1 – 2 Liverpool
Saturday 17 October 2026, 3pm, Gtech Community Stadium.
Keith Andrews, Brentford
8/12. Identity level: Belonging.
“There’s a lot that went on in the game. I think we were edging it; we were getting into a good rhythm, we were starting to play with a little bit more belief, speed, thought and action and we got ourselves in front.”
“I felt pretty confident. The bench was strong, we were going to be able to make changes as some of the lads haven’t been playing regularly recently.”
“But the sending off changes the dynamics of the game and it’s more of a challenge. We gave them a real advantage.”
The published clip runs to 92 words, so this is a small sample. What’s in it is better than the length suggests. We gave them a real advantage after the sending off puts the problem on one incident and keeps it there, and belief, speed, thought and action is a set of SQAs that stays theirs whatever happened afterwards. Both halves of the Elevate Formula, and he never goes near the referee. We were edging it tells the players the game was theirs before the red card, so the scoreline doesn’t settle what they’re worth. The marks he loses are Towards and Path. All of it points backwards and nobody leaves with a next step.
Source: Sky Sports.
Matchweek 8
Hull City 1 – 1 Brentford
Sunday 25 October 2026, 2.00pm, MKM Stadium.
Keith Andrews, Brentford
Score: 9/12. Identity level: Belonging and Esteem.
Always going to be a very difficult game coming here today the way he has the team set up very compact some real good characters in his squad they’re on a really good journey always felt there was going to be a reaction off their performance last weekend from what’s been said publicly around that ourselves we need we need to be better, we showed good resilience to come back into the game but in certain key moments we lacked a little bit of precision, a little bit of quality at times, so we go back to the drawing board and look at ourselves first.
I think that’s the simplistic way to look at it. I don’t want us to be one dimensional in how we play. We set up scenarios and training for players. The game is not always as simple as it seems. They need to make key decisions. Could we have done a little bit better? Of course we could have. But that’s the game.
Yeah, we’ve got a very good squad, we’re missing some key players today through suspension the players that played we always trust the bench that we have now, we’re able to make adjustments and hopefully you get that impact from the bench and today I thought we did that
I think we’re being really really honest there’s been some really good days some really good performances and there’s other days where I feel we we should have done better than what we’ve we’ve shown because I have such high expectations of this group and such high belief in what we can achieve, and I think today goes under the bracket of could have done better.
Andrews takes the penalty question away from his players and puts it on the coaching. He will not call it simple, he says they set up scenarios in training, and he asks whether they could have done better and answers that they could. Nobody is left exposed. The squad is credited too, because the bench changed the game with key players suspended, and the resilience to come back is named. The cost is in how he describes the gap. They lacked a bit of precision and a bit of quality. That reads as something the squad has not got rather than a bad afternoon, and it is the kind of line that a player believes is a Lasting verdict on his ability.
Source: BBC Sport match report.
Matchweek 9
Brentford 2 – 0 Nottingham Forest
Saturday 31 October 2026, 3.00pm, Gtech Community Stadium, London.
Keith Andrews, Brentford
Score: 12/12. Identity level: Esteem & Capability.
OK, you must be a happy man after that. It’s a very good three points.
Yeah, I think we’ve had some good wins this season. I think that’s right up there. I think it’s the way the opposition set up can be very difficult to break down. You’ve got to try and stay patient without getting frustrated. You’ve got to nullify their key players, which I think we did in the main today. So, off the back of a very, very busy week, another one for us, the scheduling. It was a really nice one.
So, an intelligent performance from your team in the way they approached the game and the way they controlled Nottingham Forest?
Yeah, I think smart. I think you have to be smart when you play against this team and how it’s set up. It’s not a one-dimensional game. You have to press with your head and your heart, obviously. But then you’ve got to read situations. They overload certain parts of the pitch where you’ve got to be smart in terms of how you deal with that. And then what you do with the ball, you’ve got to have that level of patience, level of control. Start the second half. We didn’t really find that rhythm to how we were playing. We lost that. But then I thought the way the subs impacted it, second goal, point in case, was a really nice example of how we improved.
That was the bit that really sort of made the difference, wasn’t it?
That second goal. Jadon Anthony had only just come off the bench. Immediate impact leading into that second goal. That’s what gave you that little bit of breathing room. Yeah, we speak about impact from the bench a lot and we’ve got really good options from there. And I just felt it was right for Aaron Hickey to come on in midfield and give us a little bit of solidity. And technically, he’s as good a player as you’re going to get. So, yeah, the second goal was really nice.
Do you feel there’s an increasing sort of maturity about the team?
I think so. I think we’re growing. You know, there’s going to be ups and downs. I think the nature of this game is you analyse every single minute of every single game. I think if you just step away from it and look at what we’ve achieved so far this season, I think on that side of the game, I think we are growing. I think we’re showing a level of maturity, a level of streetwise behaviours, how we deal with games, momentum and games when it’s not going particularly well. Like the start of the second half, as an example. I think we can pat ourselves on the back for how we dealt with that little bit of momentum. They were growing and conceded very few clear-cut opportunities. Only the Yates header, really.
It was quite old school at times, wasn’t it?
The referee seemed quite keen to let everybody get on with it. Yeah, I quite liked it. It was always going to be that type of game that sets of players as an honesty about the players, both sets of players and I enjoyed it.
Andrews names a quality most managers never get round to naming. A level of maturity, a level of streetwise behaviours, how we deal with games and momentum when it’s not going particularly well. Those are SQAs, and because he says them about the group rather than about one afternoon, they become part of who Brentford are. Once a side believes being streetwise is part of its Identity, it starts behaving that way without being told. He evidences it on the spot too, with the start of the second half, when they lost the rhythm and dealt with it.
The instructions are just as concrete. Stay patient without getting frustrated, nullify their key players, press with your head and your heart, read situations, keep that level of patience and control. Any Brentford player could repeat all five on the way to the car. He mentions the congested week twice and does not use it as an excuse, and he is honest that they lost the rhythm after the break rather than claiming a comfortable afternoon.
Source: Brentford FC.
What links this league table to a life-or-death negotiation?
A young mother. Her children asleep in the back of the car. A hosepipe connected to the exhaust. A police negotiator with three seconds to find the words that might save their lives.
That call is where The 7 Skills to impress™ began.
When I listen to a manager after a match, I listen for the message beneath the words. A manager can be talking about a win or a loss, but the way they frame it can lift or chip away at a player’s belief before anyone even realises it.
Read Three Seconds to Save Their Lives: Jacqui’s Story and find out what he said.