Frank ‘confident’ despite Brentford defeat

Thomas Frank refused to be downhearted after Brentford’s opening-day defeat at Griffin Park, saying his side’s dominance gave him confidence a good season lies ahead.

The Bees hit the bar twice and a post in a one-sided match they bossed – but it was Birmingham who stole away with the points after converting their only attempt on goal.

“I think we put in one of the best performances first half for a long time at Griffin Park,” said Brentford’s manager.

“I think we outplayed them, out-battled them, created I think four major chances at least, plus opportunities and they had actually nothing. I would say the goal is not even a chance.

“But that’s football. The second half is the disappointing part when you strive for high standards. We need to play quicker. We need to play with less touches.

“The three centre backs could have played quicker and we could have found our midfielders quicker. That was the disappointing part. We need to look at ourselves and what we could do better.

“We need to play more forward and we need to play a little bit behind them in the second half. That’s where I want more from the players.”

Frank confirmed Neal Maupay was omitted from the squad because of a lack of pre-season action. The striker is wanted by Premier League clubs ahead of Thursday’s deadline.

Frank added: “Overall, if you have 15 shots and they have one shot in a game, [and we keep doing that] then I think we will be unbeaten in the rest of the home games.

“I’m confident. Of course, though I hate losing, and losing the first match of the season at Griffin Park.”