Seconds before the curtain came down on the 2025/26 season, Brentford had a golden chance to do what they had never done before: qualify for Europe.

They were drawing 1-1 with Liverpool at Anfield and knew that one goal would be enough to finish seventh and secure Europa League football.

In the 10th minute of added time, Mikkel Damsgaard dropped the ball off to Vitaly Janelt on the left-hand side of the penalty area. The midfielder hit a cross first time that curled in the most inviting way to the centre of the box.

Kevin Schade was waiting for it, but Dango Ouattara got there first - and steered it off target.

Keith Andrews put his head in his hands and sank to his knees. His first season as a head coach had nearly ended in the most perfect way.

"I felt that epitomised the journey we'd been on last season, with how we started the season, how we grew into the season," he says, reflecting on that moment just over three months on.

"Everybody was so engrossed in our journey and gave absolutely everything. There was no shame at all from not getting into Europe, but it whetted the appetite pretty nicely for how we would do things going into pre-season.

"I sat on holiday and had a chance to think about things with immense pride at what we'd achieved. The next thought, very quickly, was how and where we go again."

Speaking to Sky Sports that day, he promised improvement in 2026/27. "This is a baseline," he said. "We'll continue to push hard."

Around a fortnight after that Sunday at Anfield, Andrews was back at base.

"There's amazing thinking time you don't normally get on a weekly basis to plan and look at things in a more forensic way," he says.

"You look to improve how we train, how we prepare, what the squad feels like, what the dynamic feels like. Everything where you feel we can get a little bit better.

"I felt like we didn't need huge meetings about what this season will be, I just felt it was there day-to-day. You could smell it, you could feel it."

The first major change came on June 12 with the appointment of his former Republic of Ireland team-mate Damien Duff as his assistant.

"He's an unbelievable support for me on a daily basis. You've got to be very impactful in your role and whatever responsibilities you have and Damien is certainly that."

The squad planning stage came next and, after an intense summer in 2025, this one was a lot less so.

Star players Bryan Mbeumo and Christian Norgaard were sold to Manchester United and Arsenal respectively, while Yoane Wissa's eventual departure to Newcastle was protracted and disruptive.

There were no headline sales this year. In fact, the only first-team exits were those of Ethan Pinnock - who only played four times in the Premier League last season - and Frank Onyeka - who had spent the best part of two seasons away from west London - to Coventry for less than £12m.

Adding depth, instead, was a key factor in recruitment, which meant Brentford were the eighth-lowest spenders in the Premier League, spending £112.5m.

"At certain stages last season, we just lacked that little bit at senior experience in the squad, different options within games to change it," Andrews says.

"We always try to find a way of competing and our players gave absolutely everything last season, but at times they probably needed a little bit more help.

"The way we've gone about our transfers this summer has been very precise. Jannik [Schuster] is a centre-back with a younger age profile and has slotted into the club really well, Callum Wilson and Jaidon Anthony have proven Premier League quality with experience, so it's not just on the pitch, it's off it in terms of what they bring.

"Mamadou Sangare was an eye-catching signing and he's started really well in our shirt. And the latest one is Malick [Diouf] from West Ham, who we were delighted to be able to get into the building.

"We've added to an already really good squad, we've added very well and we've kept hold of exactly who we wanted to keep hold of. I'm really, really happy with the deals we've got done."

Andrews often speaks about getting better - and is open about the fact that getting better than last season means reaching Europe: "Naturally, the next step for us is to try and break that ceiling."

He will, no doubt, field questions on that topic in press conferences for many months to come.

But what does that look like in action?

"The next level of development of individuals," he says.

"Pick a player… Michael Kayode. He had an amazing season, let's get him better. You make all your players better, you feed them that confidence, you create that environment, which we do create. It's inevitable if someone is as humble and hungry as Michael, they will get better.

"Players getting better naturally improves the team. Then you look at each phase of the game.

"At set-pieces we look a real threat, we look really dominant at the moment and we want to continue that.

"How do we create chances? The game is about scoring at one end and keeping goals out at the other, so how do you create opportunities? We want to create opportunities in different ways and not just be a predictable team that can only do it one way.

"And how do we become better without the ball? Are we pressing aggressively high? Can we sit in deep and absorb pressure and be a transition threat, but defend our box with aggression and collective spirit?

"They are just some examples about how we want to take the next step."

So far, that next step is beginning to take shape.

On the opening weekend, they welcomed Tottenham to the Gtech Community Stadium - and blew Roberto De Zerbi's side away.

They won 3-0, but it would have been four had Igor Thiago not rolled his penalty onto the base of the left-hand post.

Analysing the game afterwards, Sky Sports' Jamie Redknapp was impressed by what he saw.

"When somebody was out of position, they just found a way to fill the right areas. They are incredibly brave at the back, the two centre-backs play so high and press you, stop you getting out," he said.

"What Roberto De Zerbi said beforehand was that they were going to deal with a lot of long balls today, but what they actually dealt with was total football.

"It can mean different things when I hear that said," Andrews responds.

"When I think about that in terms of how we play the game, we can play in different ways. We can control games now with the ability we have as a team, the quality we have technically as a team.

"The individuals are flourishing within the squad and how we're playing, then if teams want to have a fight, we'll have a fight.

"We've got so many different attributes within the squad where we can cause the opposition problems in an unpredictable way, but we always respect every phase of the game and try and respect the opposition where we try to nullify their strengths and see if we can outdo them."

It was an evening to remember for Andrews.

"Firstly, we need to start with the fans. I thought the flags [organised by fan group TW8 Casuals] and the energy as the players came in from their warm-up and pre-game was pretty special.

"It felt energetic, it felt edgy. I loved the intentions of our fans straightaway in that game. I felt they could sense us producing a performance.

"I was confident the players would. You never truly know. I thought the connection between the players and the fans was really special and we maintained it throughout."

A 6-1 thumping of Birmingham in the Carabao Cup followed, before a 1-1 draw against Leeds at Elland Road last weekend, during which he felt Schade should have been awarded a penalty after a trip by Jayden Bogle in the box.

Sunderland's visit to the capital is up next on Saturday afternoon.

"We're in a good place, there's no denying that. The players are playing freely, with a lot of verve and personality, which I really like.

"The only way you keep that going is keeping striving, keeping pushing each other, being very demanding of each other. It's a good place to be demanding of each other when you play so well and with such an edge.

"Nothing is given in this league, but we can push the group more, they can push each other to see how far we can go."

They came within one goal of Europe at Anfield. Andrews wants to make sure Brentford get even closer this time.