Brentford FC Head Coach Thomas Frank has signed a new long-term contract. Thomas, 46, has been in the role as Head Coach for 15 months, having originally joined The Bees in 2016 as part of the coaching team under Dean Smith. When Dean left to join Aston Villa in October 2018, Thomas was appointed to the Head Coach position. He signed a new deal today, Monday 13 January, that will run until the summer of 2023.

Rasmus Ankersen, Brentford FC Co-Director of Football, said: “We are pleased to extend our collaboration with Thomas. Whenever you appoint a Head Coach, you hope it is for the long term, and over the past 15 months Thomas has done a great job executing the Club’s strategy on the pitch. He drives the togetherness every day at the Training Ground and he has played a big part in aligning all departments, so we all pull in the same direction."

Phil Giles, Brentford’s other Co-Director of Football, said: "Thomas has done a brilliant job since he took over from Dean, in particular by working with all our coaches to improve our defence this season. He has continued to emphasise the importance of togetherness among the staff and players, which is being reflected by performances on the pitch. I'm pleased that Thomas will be staying with us for the long term."

Thomas joined Brentford in December 2016. He was appointed to the role of Assistant Head Coach and took on his first job outside his native Denmark. After a spell in youth coaching early in his career, Thomas took up a role with the Danish FA in 2008, working with country’s Under-16, Under-17 and Under-19 teams. In 2013 he took up the managerial reins at Brøndby and led them to finishes of fourth and third in his two full seasons at the helm before leaving in March 2016.

Thomas took Brentford to an 11th-place finish in the Sky Bet Championship last season having been in charge for three quarters of the campaign. He overcame a difficult start to life as Head Coach and a run of one win in ten games that coincided with a spate of injuries and the death of Technical Director Robert Rowan. That was followed by a sequence of two defeats in 13 that took The Bees in to the top half of table and they eventually finished ten points outside the Play-Off places as well are reaching the FA Cup Fifth Round for the first time in 13 years.

Brentford’s win over Queens Park Rangers on Saturday was their 11th in the last 16 Championship games. The Bees currently sit third in the table, six points behind second-placed Leeds United and have won seven in a row at Griffin Park in all competitions. Thomas’ side have the best defensive record in the league and only two teams have scored more goals.

Thomas said: “I am very pleased that the Club offered me a new contract and I was delighted to sign it. I love coming to work every single day and love working with the players and the staff here. It is also brilliant to work with Phil, Rasmus and [Brentford FC Owner] Matthew Benham, we all know that this Club is special.

“There is a unique togetherness at Brentford and a unique focus on wanting to get better every day. We have a clear plan; a clear strategy and good people and we are going in the right direction. We are in a really good place and not just because of our current form on the pitch and our position in the league but because of how we are run on and off the pitch. Everybody can see the players are getting better every day and we are going in to a new stadium, which is a massive boost.

“I have a great relationship with Phil, Rasmus and Matthew. There is a clear vision and a clear strategy. We are on the same wavelength and have an understanding about the way we want to work. We push each other but in the right way and I think there is a really good chance that we will achieve success together.”