Thomas Frank has revealed he reassured Brentford defender Nathan Collins that he will never play as badly again, after two errors from the Irishman directly led to Wolves goals as his former side thrashed the Bees 4-1 at the Gtech Community Stadium.
Under-hit passes from Collins allowed Hwang Hee-chan and Jeanricner Bellegarde to score Wolves’s second and fourth goals, and poor defending from Brentford was on show for Wolves’ first and third goals too.
The defeat was Brentford’s fourth in a row, and their sixth in seven games. The Bees are 14th in the Premier League and struggling with a number of injury absences.
Asked what he had said to Collins following the defender’s errors, Frank replied: “I told him it will never be as bad as this, it is impossible — with a smile on my face: ironic.
“He's been a very positive player for us. When he got injured, he was on a really good run of form, so it happens. Today it will be tough and tonight he will be down. One thing is for sure: it is a fact that the sun will rise again, a new day.
“I expect him to walk in tomorrow with head high and go again. You can't sit in the corner and feel sorry for yourself because then you're lost. He's not that kind of character. He will be fine. It will be tough, he will never forget it! But he will come through.”
Frank was downbeat about his side’s overall performance, but accepted all teams have off days.
“One of those games that you maybe have every year — made two big mistakes that cost goals and we gave two other goals where if we hit our normal standard of defending, we don't concede them," he said.
“We created a lot of good chances and situations that should have been a chance or a goal. It was a bit of a weird one.
“It happens. In moments like this you need to show what you're made of. This is a good club, team and squad. We have character in abundance. It is a big thing in this football world to stay calm and believe in the work we do. We need to take emotion out of it.”
Brentford visit Crystal Palace in a London derby on Saturday, but none of the players unavailable against Wolves will return in time to feature at Selhurst Park.
“No players back for Crystal Palace," Frank confirmed. "But it was positive that Mathias [Jensen] came on the pitch in the second half.”
Frank said of the January transfer window: “We don't like to make transfers if we don't need to in order to develop the squad. If we do something, it is probably if we were going to do it anyway. It would be good to have another full-back.”
