Brentford win back-to-back games as Keith Andrews steadies the side

Brentford’s new manager Keith Andrews shrugged off a nervy start to his tenure by guiding the Bees to back-to-back wins this month, beating Aston Villa 1-0 at the Gtech Community Stadium on Saturday and overcoming Bournemouth 2-0 in the Carabao Cup on Tuesday. The run followed a 3-1 opening-day defeat at Nottingham Forest on August 17 that exposed the club’s vulnerability after a summer of high-profile departures.

Andrews, promoted from set-piece coach after Thomas Frank’s exit in June, said the results showed the squad’s character and a clear identity he wants to protect. His comments came after Dango Ouattara, a club-record signing from Bournemouth reportedly worth about 42 million, scored 12 minutes into his Brentford debut to settle the Villa game. Fabio Carvalho and substitute Igor Thiago netted in Tuesday’s cup victory, which sent Brentford into the third round and gave Andrews another selection headache with players staking claims for the league run that follows.

The season’s mixed start has been shaped by a substantial summer turnover. Bryan Mbeumo, Christian Norgaard and goalkeeper Mark Flekken all left the club, while Yoane Wissa has publicly pushed for a move and was...