It’s fair to say that when a team is chasing a game, most supporters would prefer to see their manager roll the dice with attacking substitutions – even at the expense of a slightly heavier defeat, particularly when goal difference is not yet decisive.
That is why eyebrows were raised when Brentford head coach Keith Andrews made like-for-like changes at full-back and in defensive midfield just two minutes after Nottingham Forest doubled their lead at the Gtech on Saturday.
It is a pattern that has marked Andrews’ short tenure, with regular in-game rotation in his left-back and midfield roles.
Until recently, it had arguably proved effective. A six-game unbeaten run in the league, including four wins, lifted Brentford to fifth, with no side scoring more goals than their 13 from the 75th minute onwards – suggesting that those in-game adjustments had paid off.
However, a key detail is that Brentford went ahead in all four of those victories. When the west Londoners concede first, they don’t look so convincing.
That was evident at Chelsea, where the hosts led at half-time before adding another late on. Andrews responded by replacing his left-back and withdrawing Kevin Schade for the more defensively minded Keane Lewis-Potter.
Teenager Romelle Donovan was introduced in stoppage time for his Premier League debut and immediately injected urgency into the attack.
So, with Brentford 2-0 down at home to an out-of-form Forest side battling relegation, the reluctance to take greater risks – by introducing Donovan earlier, or Arsenal loanee Reiss Nelson – was always likely to be questioned.
When the Hounslow Herald asked whether he could have introduced more attackers towards the end of the last two games, Andrews was honest in his response.
“I think it’s probably a fair observation in the (Forest) game, certainly,” he says. “You’re always looking at what you can do slightly differently in-game, the discussions you have with the coaching staff and the analysts that are looking from above and how we can really affect what is a very stubborn defence.”
The 45-year-old was keen to point out that he saw the Forest and Chelsea losses as “completely different,” but was far more reflective about the most recent defeat.
“Could we have done something a little bit differently? I think that’s absolutely fair,” Andrews admits. “We have to look at that and see what we could have done differently in the decisions that we made.”
He adds: “But then equally, when you look at the cold light of day, I don’t think they created two opportunities – we gave away two poor goals. We created better opportunities, and on a different day we obviously take those, and it’s a very different story.
“But I’m always self-critical around what I could and should have done a little bit better.”
When asked if bringing on Donovan and/or Nelson was part of what he could have done differently, Andrews was far more blunt and shorter in his answer: “Yes, quite possibly.”
Regarding Nelson, the Dubliner admits a disrupted start to life in west London, with minor injuries, has “stifled his rhythm in this game and getting up to speed.” The 26-year-old, on loan for the season, has featured for just 50 league minutes, including 19 minutes across three cameo appearances in the last six games.
“It hasn’t been ideal for Reiss,” Andrews says. “The fact that (he’s) been disrupted, he will feel that he hasn’t had enough opportunities and I have to accept that to a point. But equally, I feel like some of the attacking players have played particularly well.”
“We just need to get him to that level where he can really impact it consistently,” he later adds.