From Denmark U17 to the elite of English football, the extraordinary journey of Thomas Frank

Unknown in the UK when he first joined Brentford as assistant manager in 2016, Thomas Frank is now close to securing the club's highest league finish in 85 years. However, before his arrival in London, the Dane had already spent 20 years developing his craft - from youth coach to Premier League manager. Frank's journey began with the U8s of his hometown club Frederiksvaerk, before progressing to become the coach of the Denmark U17s, which qualified him for Euro 2011. During that tournament, Denmark beat hosts Serbia, France and England who had Jordan Pickford and Raheem Sterling in the team.

"He was always looking to improve and had a plan every step of the way," said forward Lee Rochester Sorensen, who was part of that Denmark U17 squad. "Thomas always had a plan A, B and C, making it clear what was needed in the four phases of the game, from the goalkeeper to the forwards - he would show us how to press our opponents."

Denmark had endured a difficult qualifying campaign, securing qualification only in the last game, in which they defeated Greece. Rochester Sorensen was benched for the opener against Serbia - and good communication was clearly important to Frank.

"As a coach he was aware of those who were disappointed not to make the starting line-up," he said. "He would call them into his office and explain the decision to you, thanking them for their work."

Before the match, Frank conducted a light training session to test the defensive skills of his players and paid special attention to the smallest details when it came to attack and defence. Thus, Denmark reached the semi-finals of the tournament, when they eventually lost to Germany. They also played in that year's U17 World Cup in Mexico, completing a successful but intense period where the team spent a lot of time together. It was the season when Barcelona won their fourth Champions League trophy, with the famous line-up consisting of Xavi, Iniesta and Messi.

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"We would watch a lot of these games together," Rochester Sorensen said. "Thomas would go crazy with excitement if one of those players did something special."

Frank continued with the Danish youth team until 2013 when he was offered a first team coaching role at Danish elite side Brondby. The club had not lifted the title since 2005, having won it six times between 1988 and 1998.

"He made some mistakes in the beginning," recalled midfielder Martion Ornskov. "And sometimes he was a little soft."

These were the new problems of a coach making the transition to senior football, with Ornskov recalling players occasionally crossing the line with interference in training. Over time, Frank put measures in place to show who was boss. The training ended with matches in small gates. If either team lost by five goals, they would have to stay for extra practice. Ornskov enjoyed Frank's cooperative approach.

"There were times when he discussed solutions with us during matches", he says.

However, there was pressure on Frank to bring back the club's glory days. He often talked about the process of turning the club's fortunes around, which saw some in the press mocking him. As far as they were concerned, Frank had to forget about any process and start winning. The Super League title remained elusive, with Brondbyn finishing no higher than third during Frank's three seasons in charge.

"I knew he would be liked as a person and could evolve as a manager, but working in the Premier League without having experience or being a big name is a big challenge. But Thomas was always so curious about football - he lived for the game," recalls Ornskov.

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After joining Brentford as assistant manager in December 2016, Frank replaced Dean Smith as the team's head coach in October 2018 - and secured the club's return to the Premier League via the play-offs in 2021. Now more experienced and with his squad is targeting European competition, Brentford fans will no doubt be proud of their 49-year-old manager. However, they should be worried because the Dane has already attracted the attention of Tottenham, who are looking for a coach for the new season. After 29 rounds played this season in the Premier League, Brentford is ninth in the table with 43 points collected.

"Of course, it would be great to play next season in Europe. However, our focus is to continue with good performances until the end of the edition and then see the final ranking", said Frank, when asked about the possibility of Brentford playing in Europe.