Head coach Keith Andrews sat down with the media on Friday morning ahead of Brentford’s Premier League game against Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday (5.30pm kick-off, live on Sky Sports).

From the Bees’ ambitions for the new campaign and challenge posed by Roberto De Zerbi’s Tottenham to summer recruitment and the transfer window, here are five talking points from Andrews’ press conference at Jersey Road.

Summer transfer business

“Yeah, I’m really happy,” Andrews said when asked about Brentford’s work in the transfer window. “The squad’s in a good place.

“We knew where we were last season. We knew we were keen to add in certain areas. We’ve brought four players in from other clubs, and we’re really happy with the business that we’ve done.”

He added: “The squad depth that we have now is better than we had 12 months ago.

“We’re already a team that has really good cohesion, a really good understanding of the way we want to play the game.

“There’s trust throughout the football club from top to bottom. That’s a nice place to be.”

Facing Tottenham and Roberto De Zerbi

“In regard to Spurs, obviously [De Zerbi] is a very, very good coach, a very experienced coach,” said Andrews.

“It’s a very different team, of course, but a lot of the individuals that they’ve signed are very familiar to us from what they’ve done at their respective clubs.

“We have an idea of what they will do. They’ll have their own plan, of course, which we’ll need to adapt to.”

Asked how Brentford could combat Tottenham’s style, the Bees boss continued: “I think we’ve shown as a team, as we’ve grown into this journey and this chapter together, that we can play in different ways.

“The fact that we can be unpredictable is one of our strengths.

“We’ve got players that complement each other in a certain way of playing that we’ve tried to evolve in pre-season.

“We feel that’s going in the right direction and that can cause any team problems.”

Ambitions for 2026/27

“I think the ambition for this season is to be better,” Andrews stated.

“I’m nine months away from [the end of the season], so I certainly won’t be shouting anything from the treetops.

“The one thing I would say, from where we were to where we are now, is we don’t have to stabilise like this time last year.

“We’ve started from a much better place. The players are in a good place and very, very ambitious to achieve something special this season.”

He also acknowledged that last season’s progress has changed the expectations around his side: “It’s just a different pressure. Expectations are slightly different. I’m okay with that.

“I want us to be an ambitious team. That’s not to lose sight of what has to get you results, doing the basics very well on a daily basis, and continuing to look to grow.

“If we get ahead of that in any way, we’ll quickly become unstuck.”

Callum Wilson’s role alongside Igor Thiago

“There’s certainly a scenario where they’re both on the pitch together,” Andrews explained.

“On Callum, firstly, he’s an amazing professional.

“We were keen to bring him here. We were keen to have honest discussions around what his role would be, obviously in and around Thiago.

“Callum’s done exactly what he says on the tin. He’s a serious pro. He’s a goalscorer.

“He’s fitted in brilliantly already on all levels.”

Andrews also highlighted the experience Wilson has brought to the dressing room: “The balance of experience in the dressing room and players that have played so many games in the Premier League, I think that is invaluable.

“The relationship he’s building up with Thiago and Kaye [Furo] is really impressive.

“The way they work on the training pitch, in meetings and just seeing them around the group, I’ve really enjoyed that.”

Mamadou Sangaré

“I think with [Mamadou], you’ll see his attributes,” Andrews stated. “We’ve seen pretty closely what he was able to do at Lens in different positions and different systems.

“He’s an all-rounder for me, so he complements us really, really well.”

Andrews later expanded on what the midfielder can offer: “He can do the hard yards, do all the defensive work, but he can run beyond our attacking players and provide that energy and calmness and technique.

“People would have seen it last weekend from the second phase of the corner kick: a really proactive position, but then the technique to produce a nice finish.

“I just want him to be him, really.

“I’m really happy with how he’s settled. It’s not always easy. We’re really happy with how he’s settled into our rhythm of how we play.

“I just want him to be him tomorrow. I want him to enjoy the game, enjoy the occasion and just play his game.”