Brentford head coach Thomas Frank has discussed the influence Robert Rowan had on the way the club has been built, ahead of the first-ever Robert Rowan Invitational on Friday 19 May.

The fixture will commemorate the life and legacy of the Bees' former technical director, who sadly passed away in November 2018 due to an undiagnosed heart condition at the age of just 28.

Robert had been technical director since February 2018 and had been with the club for just short of four years. He joined the Bees in late 2014 and was appointed as the club’s head of football operations in the summer of 2015.

As well as managing the day-to-day football operations at the club’s training ground, Robert oversaw the strategic direction of Brentford B.

Having been influential in setting up the B team, the Robert Rowan Invitational will see Neil MacFarlane - who has stated that "the work Rob put in all those years ago is something that drives us every single day" - and his side take on Manchester City EDS.

And Frank believes the match, and the Robert Rowan Performance Centre - the club's new training facility which was named after the Scot - is 'truly deserved' for the work Rob did during his time at the club.

“I am very pleased that we are very aware of that legacy. I think it's extremely important because he deserves it," said Frank.

“He put so much hard work, effort and pride into his work with Brentford. He influenced the way we built the club in terms of the B team, first and foremost, and also the first team.

"I’m very happy that we named the Robert Rowan Performance Centre after him - I think it's truly deserved.”

Wife Suzanne and director of football Phil Giles gave their perspective on the work he did to help build the B team, who recently won the prestigious Premier League Cup.

Suzanne explained: "He was given quite a big project to close the academy and start the B team. I think it was a big task for him because he was only 25 or 26 at the time.

“But I also think he knew that he had the trust of the people around him and he knew what Brentford was about and what the long-term goals for the club were.

“So he just did it. He worked on it and got on with it. I think he was really starting to see the progression before he passed away.”

Giles added: “At the time, I think he was looking for more of a project, something to get his teeth into rather than just the scouting work - something to really be accountable for.

“So we involved him in the decision-making around the academy and then we told him that we needed someone to set up the B team, you can do that job, you're in charge.”

Tickets for the first-ever Robert Rowan Invitational are on sale now.

General admission for the fixture is priced at £1 for juniors and £3 for adults. Premium tickets will include a pie and an alcoholic or soft drink and are priced at £20

The club will donate all proceeds from Brentford B v Man City EDS to fund ground-breaking sports cardiology research at the Royal Brompton and Harefield Hospitals Charity, as part of Heart of West London partnership.

And Suzanne hopes the support for these charities will make a real difference.

“It's fantastic," she said, "just having connections with these different charities that help cardiac health, and the fact that the club are putting so much time and effort into that and supporting these charities means I really believe we can make a difference.

"It's not just our relationship with CRY, obviously they are for young people with heart conditions, but it's spread out across the community and, hopefully, because we're doing what we're doing, which is a long-term initiative, we can really make a difference.

"The fact we can now connect with the game is just amazing."