Brentford head coach Keith Andrews wants his side to attack the daunting challenge of facing Manchester United at “special” Old Trafford on Monday night.
United are much improved under former midfielder Michael Carrick – who took over in an interim role after Reuben Amorim was sacked at the start of January – and look set to secure a return to the Champions League.
The Bees have not won at Old Trafford in the four visits since they got promoted to the Premier League in 2021, losing every game, with the club’s last victory there being coming back in 1937 in the old First Division.
Former Republic of Ireland international Andrews, though, believes his players should “embrace the challenge” of putting that record straight on Monday night, when Brentford will be out to end a run of five straight league draws.
“It is a special place to play football, for sure, and a special place to go, with the history of the stadium and the football club,” the Dubliner said at a press conference.
“I think it is just in that bracket of clubs where you want to go and really test yourself as a player – (with) the environment and the team that you are facing, but (also) the individuals that they will be coming up against.
“It is a really, really tough test for us against a team that is playing well, playing really good football. They have obviously been very, very effective in what way he (Carrick) set them up over recent weeks and months.
“I just think it is a game for us that we should attack. We should embrace the challenge of it and it has been a while since we have been able to do that (there).”
Watch Arsenal v Lyon in the UEFA Women’s Champions League on Sunday from 3pm on RTÉ One and RTÉ Player