Frank excited to take on his former Bees boss Smith

Thomas Frank says he and Brentford owe Aston Villa boss Dean Smith a huge debt of gratitude ahead of Saturday’s Premier League clash at Villa Park.

The Bees, who have made an encouraging start to life in the top flight with four points from their first two games, face their toughest test of the season in what is a case of friends reunited with Ollie Watkins and Ezri Konsa likely to be in Villa side.

Both Watkins and Konsa have flourished since leaving Brentford to link up with their former manager Smith, who returned to his former club to pick off two of their best players following his exit in 2018.

Despite that, Frank said there no bad blood between the two parties and paid tribute to the role Smith played in helping Brentford reach the top flight for the first time since 1947, and also helping him to settle in the UK following his arrival from Denmark.

“Dean was here three years and coaches before him like (Mark) Warburton did a good job to build the club going forward, but no doubt Dean had a big impact in terms of laying the foundations were are now stood on,” Frank said.

“We have since lifted it further, but to do that we needed good foundations and Dean built them so me and others could progress.”

Smith and Frank had not worked together previously before his appointment as assistant manager in December 2016, but the Dane said the pair hit it off immediately and remain close friends.

“It was the first time I had ever left Denmark to work, coming to a new country and a new culture, and it tells you everything about him that he invited me to live with him in his house for the first week after I arrived,” Frank said.

“He is an extremely open-minded person and made it so easy for me to integrate with Brentford.

“I was coming into the club, but I still had to earn their trust and they were completely open with me from day one.

“He is from the UK and I am from Denmark, two completely different cultures, but we gave a bit to each other, but he helped me understand the Championship and the English game and that was a massive help.

“Since he left we have spoken on the phone regularly and I have had some good advice from Dean which has been really helpful. He is a very good manager and an even better person.”

Watkins has missed Villa’s first two matches of the season with a knee injury but likely to feature on Saturday and Frank said he is looking forward to seeing his former star striker again for the first time since he departed following the play-off final defeat by Fulham in 2020.

“I wish Ollie all the best and I am so happy when he gets success,” Frank said.

“It was a sad moment when he had to leave and I clearly remember the day of the play-off final he was in tears because he loved the club and wanted to play Premier League with Brentford, but we knew that he had an unbelievable season and if we didn’t got up we would lose him.

“We got a good price for him, but I still think it was a bargain what they paid and I was so happy to see him get his England debut.”

Brentford are likely to keep the same side that drew 0-0 with Crystal Palace last week, with midfielders Mathias Jensen and Shandon Bapstiste, who are yet to feature this season, to be assessed ahead of the game.