“A project built on talent” – Manager hails Brentford “magic” and “partnership” with Thomas Frank

New Anderlecht boss Bryan Riemer has hailed his time at Brentford as “magic” that was built on the “talent” on and off the pitch.

Riemer recently left Brentford to take up the vacant manager’s position at Anderlecht, his first position as head coach since managing Hvidovre for a month in 2008.

That brought an end to a four year stay with Brentford, who he joined as assistant manager in 2018 after spells at various levels with Copenhagen.

He would play a key role in the success the Bees have enjoyed over the last few years, working closely with manager Thomas Frank behind the scenes.

That success included promotion from the Championship in 2021 courtesy of a win over Swansea in the play off final that year, before a strong first year in the Premier League last season that saw them finish 13^th and 11 points clear of the relegation zone.

That is more than anyone ever expected of Brentford given the size of their budget and the team they were promoted with and Riemer says it was a combination of talent and magic that caused it.

“It is a team coming from the second division that had to do incredible things to get promoted, with the smallest budgets and worst grounds,” Voetbalkrant report him saying.

“When you are part of such a project, you have to create magic and be able to get the best out of everything. It was a project built on talent. We suddenly had to turn our players into Premier League players.

“I had a great relationship with Thomas Frank, Brentford’s head coach. I have known him for years and Thomas knows my qualities.

“What also attracted me to that project is that it was a partnership between me and Thomas. Since Thomas gave me a lot of responsibility, I never felt like merely the assistant coach. I was already involved in many aspects of head coaching at Brentford.”