Brentford boss Frank expects ‘very intense’ game vs Everton; Dyche ‘should be’ in Premier League

Ahead of Saturday’s game, Brentford head coach Thomas Frank has suggested that Everton boss Sean Dyche “should be” a Premier League manager.

Dyche was drafted in by Everton on January 30 with a view to guiding the Premier League club to safety. They struggled for consistency and were in the bottom three under his predecessor Frank Lampard.

Everton head into this weekend’s game at Goodison Park in 18th but they are level on points with Leeds United, who are one place above them.

In contrast, Brentford have enjoyed an impressive season so far, including a derby win over local rivals Fulham on Monday.

But it was the Toffees boss who Frank praised ahead of his side’s trip to Merseyside.

“I like Sean a lot. I’ve been privileged to meet him a few times,” the Dane said.

“I also texted him when he got the job at Everton to welcome him back to the Premier League.

“It’s where he should be and he’s a coach that’s done so much for the league.”

Dyche won his first game in charge, but Everton have since gone on a three-game winless run. Frank, however, is still wary of a difficult challenge.

“I expect them to be very intense in their pressing. I expect them to be very intense and physical in the second balls and the duels,” the Brentford manager said.

“I think they’ll be very good at defending, so it’ll be difficult to find a way in to try and score. And I think they’ll also be very good at creating crosses on the side, like I said.

“So, that’s a challenge we’ll have to deal with and hopefully find a way to, not necessarily get around it, but through it.”

Dyche has been impressed by what he has seen from Brentford over the last couple of seasons, he said: “I’m not sure you aspire to be like anyone. Most teams have a format that they trust. They’ve come through a spell and got it right, that’s obvious with the players they’ve brought in. They’ve done very well on the bigger picture.

On Brentford’s top goalscorer, Ivan Toney, Dyche added: “Footballers when they sign for clubs are like mythical figures, but he’s been around for years. He worked his way up the ladder. He was at Newcastle and it didn’t work out. They didn’t pay £800k for him, they paid £8 million for him.”