Keith Andrews and John Egan Reunion: Brentford vs Hull

Keith Andrews relishes the personal sub-plot awaiting him on Sunday: a reunion with John Egan as Brentford travel to Hull.

The Brentford head coach knows the Hull City centre-back as well as anyone in the game. Their paths have crossed at almost every stage of Egan’s senior career – with the Republic of Ireland, at Sheffield United, and now again in the Premier League, after Andrews took charge at Gtech Stadium in 2025.

This weekend, though, familiarity will be parked the moment the whistle goes.

Old allies, new battle

Egan, now a cornerstone at Hull after helping them clinch promotion last season, will line up not just against his former coach but against a club where he once made his name. He spent two seasons under Thomas Frank at Brentford, forming part of a side that pushed hard in the Championship and laying some of the foundations for the club’s rise.

Before that, he arrived in west London from Gillingham in 2016 and went on to make 71 Championship appearances for the Bees. Those games turned him from a promising defender into a proven one, and they earned him the reputation that followed him to Sheffield United, onto the international stage, and now back to the top flight with Hull.

Andrews has seen that evolution up close. He spoke with clear respect when asked about Egan in his pre-match press conference.

“He’s someone that I really like as a man,” Andrews said. “I coached him at international level and I also coached him at Sheffield United, so I know John pretty well.

“I’m so happy for him that he’s made that move to Hull, got the promotion back, playing at the highest level and still playing a really important role for our country.

“He’s a player you would go into the trenches with. He’s been a magnificent player. He’s a man that I really admire and like.”

From admiration to opposition

That admiration will not soften Brentford’s approach. Egan now stands between Andrews’ side and the points they need, a leader at the heart of a Hull defence buoyed by promotion and sharpened by a return to the elite.

For Egan, the fixture offers a different kind of test: shutting out a club where he once wore the armband in all but name, managed now by a coach who helped shape his career. For Andrews, it is the chance to outwit a defender he trusts implicitly.

On Sunday, one of them will walk away with the result. The other will walk away knowing exactly why he rates the man on the opposite side so highly.