Manchester United vs Brentford: Bees Boss insists VAR must continue to improve
Ahead of Brentford’s trip to Manchester United this weekend, Thomas Frank has reiterated his support for VAR, but added improvements must be made when reviewing game-changing incidents.
The Bees’ manager was pressed on an array of VAR-related topics throughout Thursday’s press conference. This follows a number of controversial decisions last weekend, namely the ruling out of Luis Diaz’s goal for offside against Tottenham Hotspur.
Brentford were also on the receiving end of some misfortune during their draw with Nottingham Forest. They were denied a penalty after striker Yoane Wissa appeared to be brought down by Forest goalkeeper Matt Turner. Frank revealed that the PGMOL had apologised for the mistake, admitting a spot-kick should’ve been awarded.
Although the Dane believes VAR has improved, he recognised more needs to be done to avoid a repeat of what happened last weekend. He stated: “Those are the ones we need to look at, especially the clear and obvious errors.
“Both situations. On field, wrong decision. VAR, wrong decision. Those are the incidents we need to look into and try and improve.”
When probed on Jurgen Klopp’s calls for the game to be replayed, Frank said he wouldn’t do the same if he was in that position.
It was also revealed that seven players remain unavailable for the trip to Old Trafford due to injury. The topic of player injuries being linked to the longer duration of games has been a hot one and Frank believes that for the sake of player welfare, a close eye must be kept on it as the campaign continues.
“I definitely think it’s something we need to look into over a season,” said the Scandinavian.
“Also, for player welfare, I think we need to look into how many games they are playing.”
Two players who are available for the Hounslow outfit are Yoane Wissa and Bryan Mbeumo. The duo has failed to score in each of their last three fixtures, but their boss remains confident they will get back to goalscoring form.
“I think every offensive player goes through spells in the season where they are not scoring that regularly.
“I look at the performances and if they are still getting on the end of chances and working hard for the team and the way I see them they are still arriving in the right areas.”
Brentford will arrive at the Theatre of Dreams with just one win in the league this season. However, their opponents aren’t faring much better. Defeat to Crystal Palace last weekend saw United lose their fourth game in seven, the first time they have done so in the Premier League era.
Despite this, Frank dismissed claims that this is a good time to play the Red Devils.
“The flip side to that is they need to bounce back. They need to come flying out. They need to do everything they can to beat us.”
