Thomas Frank: "Everyone likes to compete and challenge against the best teams in the Premier League. That is something we really enjoy going into and we do with a big belief. We are really looking forward to the game against a Leicester City side who have done amazingly this season"
Saturday 23 January 2021 22:42, UK
Brentford boss Thomas Frank is relishing the opportunity for his side to challenge themselves against Premier League opposition when they take on Leicester in the FA Cup on Sunday.
Frank's side just missed out on promotion last season when they reached the Sky Bet Championship play-offs playing an attacking brand of football only to be beaten by Fulham in the Wembley final.
The west Londoners will face Brighton in the fifth round of the FA Cup if they can overcome Brendan Rodgers' in-form Leicester side but Frank believes they are ready for the challenge.
"Everyone - players, coaches, staff, directors - like to compete and challenge against the best teams in the Premier League," he said.
"That is something we really enjoy going into and we do with a big belief.
"We are really looking forward to the game tomorrow against a Leicester City side who have done amazingly this season.
"They narrowly missed out on the top four last year but now are competing for it, and some would say even the Championship [Premier League title] again."
With the Bees fourth in the Championship and again pushing for promotion to the top tier, Frank admitted he will make some changes to his starting line-up although that is also reflective of the long list of games his side face in the coming weeks.
"I will use the squad but not like a full rotation. We will put a strong team out there," he added.
"Sometimes you have to give belief to eight, nine, or 10 players for a number of games in a row to try and create that connection between the players.
"I trust all my players and I believe in all my players, but I can't give all of them 90 minutes every week."
Like all clubs, Brentford have been affected by the coronavirus pandemic, both on and off the pitch, with recent games against Bristol City and Reading having to be suspended after positive Covid-19 tests at the club.
They returned to action with a 1-0 win over Luton at the Brentford Community Stadium on Wednesday.
Frank said: "It did affect us, definitely; you could see that in the second half against Luton Town. We started fresh but after 50 minutes there was a complete lack of energy.
"They [the players] didn't lie on their sofa when the training ground was closed, they were out running, but because they didn't have that maximum load, you can't just repeat it.
"That definitely affected us and we were pleased we still got over the line and got the three points.
"I spoke to Nathan Jones from Luton Town and he said it was exactly the same for them against QPR [in their first game back after a COVID break] in that they couldn't get the body going. Hopefully now we should be fine."
