Keith Andrews Declares Brentford Carabao Cup ‘a Priority’ Ahead of Reading Trip

Keith Andrews has described the Carabao Cup as a “priority” for Brentford ahead of Tuesday night’s third-round tie against Reading.

The Bees head to the Madejski Stadium having already made an emphatic start to this season’s competition, beating Birmingham City 6-1 away from home in round two.

Around 5,000 Brentford supporters are expected to make the short journey to Reading, and the head coach believes that travelling support reflects the expectations around the competition.

“We’ve got 5,000 fans going to the game and that, for me, says it all about the belief that fans have that we are taking it very seriously,” Andrews said.

“It’s a priority, and not just because it’s the next game. We didn’t get to exactly where we wanted to last year, but that’s the plan this year.”

It suggests that Andrews isn’t looking to use the fixture as a run out for fringe players, but with increased squad depth this season, it doesn’t rule out squad roatation. Brentford reached the quarter-finals last season before their run was ended by Manchester City.

That experience has done little to reduce the appetite for another cup run, particularly with Andrews now working with a squad he believes is capable of competing across different competitions with enough depth and quality.

There are likely to be changes from the side that drew 2-2 with Bournemouth on Saturday, but Andrews has stressed that Reading will be given the same preparation as any Premier League opponent.

“We have to pay the opposition ultimate respect and that’s something we do really well,” he said.

“Players are always very aware who they’re up against and what it will feel like. We need to play our game. Reading will have their plan; we will have to play well.”

The tie also comes at an interesting point in Brentford’s start to the season.

The Bees are still unbeaten in the Premier League, but the latest performance against Brentford left Andrews dissatisfied and has been open about wanting greater consistency from his players after seeing how high their level can be.

“The way I look at the last few weeks is that we set the bar very, very high in some games and we haven’t quite hit that level,” Andrews said.

“We are a team that is very respected now and with that comes a different type of pressure to perform and get results.”

Tuesday night gives the Brentford manager an opportunity to use more of his squad, although one player who had been set for a start will now miss out.

Kaye Furo suffered an injury in training and underwent an operation on Monday morning.

The 19-year-old had been pushing towards greater first-team involvement after an excellent start to the season with Brentford’s development side, including winning the Premier League 2 Player of the Month award for August.

Andrews confirmed he had intended to start Furo against Reading before the injury occurred.

“That’s really frustrating for him,” Andrews said. “I would’ve started him against Reading because I felt he deserved it and was in that type of space.

“I’m not sure how long he’s going to be out for but we’ll obviously look after him and get him back to a good place.”

Benjamin Fredrick is expected to be involved after Brentford kept the centre-back out of the B team fixture on Sunday to ensure he was available for the cup tie. The Nigeria international is yet to make his senior Brentford debut, but has returned to training over the last couple of weeks and could now get his opportunity at Reading.

Changes may come, but Andrews’ message ahead of the game has been clear. Brentford want another extended run in the competition, and the size of the away following only adds to the sense that Tuesday night matters.