Brentford have reportedly made progress in talks with Keith Andrews over the club's vacant manager position.

For the first time since 2018, the Bees are searching for a new manager following the recent departure of Thomas Frank.

The Dane departed to take over the reins at Tottenham Hotspur after the two clubs reached an agreement over a £10m compensation package.

Frank has left big shoes to fill after he took Brentford from the Championship and built them into an established Premier League club.

Brentford advancing with Andrews talks

According to The Standard, Andrews is the leading candidate to succeed Frank at the Gtech Community Stadium.

The 44-year-old currently works as a set-piece coach at Brentford - a position he has held since last July. 

The report claims that talks are advancing between the two parties over a deal for Andrews, who has had ambitions of moving into senior management. 

There is 'growing optimism' from both sides that a deal will be agreed for Andrews to replace Frank in the dugout.

Is Andrews the right candidate for Brentford?

Brentford made the bold decision to promote from within when Dean Smith left his role as head coach in October 2018.

On that occasion, the Bees promoted Frank from his role as assistant manager, and never looked back as they embarked on a memorable journey to the Premier League.

However, Frank had at least previously overseen 103 games as the manager of Brondby before he arrived in West London. 

In contrast, Andrews has only worked as an assistant at MK Dons, the Republic of Ireland Under-21s, the Irish senior side and at Sheffield United. 

Andrews was reportedly a candidate to take over the reins at League Two MK Dons in April, but he ultimately lost out to former Derby County boss Paul Warne.

It is a sizeable leap to go from missing out on a League Two job to potentially starting a managerial career in the Premier League.

Brentford may be better served by making an effort to appoint a young manager with some experience, like Ipswich Town boss Kieran McKenna. 

However, they have proven in the past that they are willing to take risks and will hope Andrews can follow in Frank's footsteps.