High press and high praise for Bielsa: Thomas Frank previews Premier League clash with Manchester City
After the international break, Brentford resume their Premier League season with a challenging task ahead- the reigning champions, Manchester City.
The Bees have begun the season well, picking up six points from their opening three games, winning 3-1 against Southampton in their last fixture.
Bryan Mbuemo is filling the void of Ivan Toney thus far, scoring three goals in three league games, with two coming in the home win against the Saints.
However, the visit to the Etihad Stadium will likely be their toughest test of the season. Still, Brentford boss Thomas Frank is keen to stick to his principles to try and win away at City- something no Premier League team has achieved since they did two years ago.
Not backing down
Frank spoke defiantly at his press conference, insistent that his team would play as they did against Southampton- pressing high to win the ball back to score goals.
“I want to press high as much as possible in that game,” said Frank.
“We have to do that because we’re good at it.
“But they are so good, so we’ll be forced back sometimes and defend lower.
“We have to defend as high as possible. I know it’s a challenge, but we will take that challenge.”
Keeping the camp happy
An argument raised about Manchester City is how they manage to keep everyone happy in the team because of the abundance of talent they have at their disposal.
When posing the question to Frank about how he keeps everyone in his team happy and comfortable at Brentford, he replied:
“It’s impossible.
“I want to say that I’m so good that I’m a magician and can make everyone happy.
“I try to do my very best to treat everyone with respect. I try to say hello to everyone every morning and be aware of speaking to everyone more than just, ‘How are you?’ and then get the classic ‘I’m good’ reply.
“And then, four hours later, ‘How are you?’
‘I’m still good.’
“Two hours later, ‘Yes, I’m still good.’
“But I try to go more in-depth with them over 2-3 weeks. That could just be, I ask, ‘How are you?’ But then I say, ‘How is your mum or girlfriend?’
“Or ‘how are things going on?’ So I try to do that.”
Tactical configurations
Having branded Man City boss Pep Guardiola as ‘the best manager in the world’, Frank gave this response when asked if he’s tried to tamper with his formula the way Guardiola does, citing current Uruguay manager Marcelo Bielsa as inspiration for some left-of-field tactical choices.
“I remember watching Bielsa back in the day when he was head coach for Chile, and his pressing was crazy.
“I decided to do it in Denmark with my under-16 national team when I first got the job.
“Looking back now, I feel sorry for those poor players I forced to run and follow their man all over the pitch.
“Of course, I learned from it and adjusted a bit. I still use some of Bielsa’s principles when we press high, going man for man. It’s a blueprint I stored in my head, and I use it frequently today, so we’ll most likely use it against Manchester City.”
