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Thomas Frank highlights Brentford's 'remarkable story' as Premier League beckons

:Headline: Thomas Frank highlights Brentford's 'remarkable story' as Premier League beckons:
The Bees have come a long way under the ownership of Matthew Benham.
Sports Mole

Brentford head coach Thomas Frank hopes people will see the bigger picture as the club look to continue a journey of enlightenment and punch above their weight in the Premier League.

The Bees host Arsenal on Friday night back in the top flight for the first time since the 1946/47 campaign.

Under the ownership of Matthew Benham it has been some journey for the west London club, who finished third last season in the Sky Bet Championship and went on to win the play-off final at Wembley.

In 2016, Brentford made the difficult decision to close the academy, opting instead to run a 'B' squad of players aged 17-21 and produce a group aimed to act as a direct feeder into the first team.

While the 'Moneyball' recruitment approach might not be for everyone, it has seen the club gain major returns for taking a calculated risk on seemingly under-valued talent before developing them into prized assets to sell on for a tidy profit – such as with the likes of Ollie Watkins, Said Benrahma, Neal Maupay and Chris Mepham.

Frank, though, maintains things are much more complex than a simple gamble which paid off handsomely, and it is an approach which the club hope will see them able to hold their own among England's elite once again after a 74-year absence.

"Brentford is a remarkable story about strategy, enlightenment, but also being unbelievably brave," Frank said.

"In the play-off final we had Mads Roerslev in our side, a player who couldn't get into the team in the second best league in Denmark two years ago, so there are different pathways.

"There are, though, not many teams which take chances with their recruitment as we do, but of course it is not chance, like we just pick a random player.

Danish defender Mads Roerslev has made the most of his opportunity with the Bees (Mike Egerton/PA)

"We work on that with data, with video scouting and analysing everything to make sure that they fit into our style of play and our specific criteria.

"It is more the bigger picture that people would look at us and say: 'the way they do it is quite remarkable with less money than everyone in the Premier League and can still play an interesting and attractive brand of football and be forward thinking', that is my hope."

The spotlight will be on Bees talisman Ivan Toney, who finished last season with 31 goals in the Championship.

Frank maintains Brentford will tackle the Premier League on the front foot.

"Of course we are all learning along the way, but our big aim is to attack in the Premier League and I don't see why we could not," the Danish coach said.

Ivan Toney's goals helped fire Brentford into the Premier League (Mike Egerton/PA)

"I only say, though, for as many minutes as possible because even in the Championship you cannot attack for 90 minutes, you need to defend for several minutes depending on the opponent, but we will try to attack as much as possible against Arsenal.

"If you want to achieve something, you need to be positive. You cannot defend and then try to achieve something.

"Of course I am aware that we need to do both very well because if you don't defend very well then you don't have a chance to also attack, so we will attack."

Frank added: "We are very aware we are facing world-class players but we need to believe because that is half the way to the victory.

"It is easy to believe before the game, but it is also during the game in the tough spells where we need to keep believing, keep doing the right things, keep staying in there. That is where you really show that top attitude."

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Premier League Table
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Arsenal34245582265677
2Liverpool34228475344174
3Manchester CityMan City32227376324473
4Aston Villa34206871502166
5Tottenham HotspurSpurs32186865491660
6Manchester UnitedMan Utd33165125150153
7Newcastle UnitedNewcastle331551369541550
8West Ham UnitedWest Ham34139125463-948
9Chelsea32138116157447
10Bournemouth34129134960-1145
11Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton321111105250244
12Wolverhampton WanderersWolves34127154654-843
13Fulham34126165054-442
14Crystal Palace34109154456-1239
15Brentford3498175259-735
16Everton34118153648-1233
17Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest3479184260-1826
18Luton TownLuton3467214775-2825
19Burnley3458213769-3223
20Sheffield UnitedSheff Utd3437243392-5916
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