By Mark McCadden

Copyright irishmirror

Keith Andrews has paid tribute to his former Ireland manager Giovanni Trapattoni and ex-Ireland rugby head coach Joe Schmidt for their roles in his journey to becoming a Premier League manager.

Andrews was appointed as Brentford boss during the summer, shortly after Thomas Frank’s departure to Tottenham.

He made the step up from his job as set-piece coach and Andrews, who also served as assistant manager during Stephen Kenny’s Ireland reign, led the Bees to a 2-2 draw against Chelsea at the weekend.

He reflected on some of the people across all sporting codes that helped him on his way to his current position, and described how he worked with the Ireland underage squads for free over an 18-month period.

During that time he went on “study visits” to various different clubs and sporting organisations.

“I went to so many different football clubs, I spent a lot of time with the IRFU and Joe Schmidt, in Gaelic football, hurling, lots of different environments just trying to absorb everything,” Andrews told the official Brentford website.

“About six months after that, Stephen Kenny rang me and asked me to come in as Under-21s assistant manager, which went on to me becoming senior assistant as well. That was five years when I was fully engrossed in Irish football.

“I did everything I could while I was there to try and push things and help us become an impactful football nation.

“That time with Ireland was a big chapter of my life. I could have gone into club roles during that time, but I just wanted to give it everything I had, not get distracted in any way, and to see out that chapter properly.

“The international roles were brilliant for me because they allowed me the time between camps.

“Most people play golf but, to be honest, I had to give up golf because I wanted to devour the time I had, because I knew that, once I went into club football, I wouldn’t have that luxury.”

Andrews won all 35 senior Ireland caps under the legendary Italian manager Trapattoni, and he described working with the former Juventus and Bayern Munich boss as “amazing.”

He added: “(Trapattoni) was someone who would walk into a room and, despite being just 5ft 9in, he owned it. He had that presence and aura.

“We knew exactly how we had to play, with and without the ball, which he combined with simplicity, which is key for players.

“He’s an iconic manager and he was phenomenal. It was a privilege to play under him.”

Andrews also recalled one of the darkest nights in Irish football – when Thierry Henry’s handball denied the Boys in Green a spot at the 2010 World Cup.

“It definitely took a toll on us,” he said. “You don’t realise it at the time, but it did. My mood and demeanour at the time and for weeks after were subdued.

“To be within a whisker of qualifying for the World Cup, which would have been life-changing, so for that not to happen was soul-destroying.

“But what it did do was galvanise the group. We had that steeliness about us that, next time, we would qualify.

“We did do that, for Euro 2012, but it was just a little bit too late for us to be at our peak.

“When you’re playing against teams and players of that level, it’s always going to be difficult. We got drawn into a really, really difficult group with Croatia, Spain and Italy, with the latter two contesting the final.

“They were amazing experiences to a point, because I hate losing games, but it’s nice to say you’ve played at that level.”

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