AFC Bournemouth
Having already seen red under Thomas Frank, Chris Mepham now hopes to leave his former boss green with envy.
Mepham has nothing but good words to say about the job Frank has done since he first arrived at Brentford in December 2016.
The Dane, who replaced Dean Smith as head coach in October 2018, has guided the Bees to successive third-placed finishes in the Championship.
Beaten by Fulham in the play-off final in August 2020, Frank will be hoping to go one better and lead the West London club into the Premier League this season.
Brentford face the Cherries over two legs in the semi-final, with Vitality Stadium staging the first instalment on Monday (6pm kick-off).
Frank’s start to life as Bees boss got off to a losing start when Mepham’s dismissal for two yellow cards proved a turning point in a 1-0 defeat at Bristol City.
And while Mepham is full of admiration for Frank’s work, the defender is determined to prevent him and his former club winning a return ticket to Wembley.
Mepham told afcb.co.uk: “In an ideal world, we would already be in the Premier League and wouldn’t have to be facing this challenge.
“This is a great opportunity to get back there but we know it will be tough. There was never going to be an easy game in the play-offs but Brentford were very consistent over the course of the season.
“They were in a great position to get promoted last season and were unfortunate not to go up. I’m hoping we can come out on top this season.”
Mepham worked under Frank in the Brentford B team and played ten games during his tenure as head coach before joining the Cherries in January 2019.
He added: “When I was there, Brentford were seen as a mid-table club. They always wanted to push into the top six but, for whatever reason, it never quite happened.
“Thomas came in and, initially, it took a bit of time for what he wanted from the players to transfer on to the pitch.
“But they have been right up there for the past two seasons and gone very close to automatic promotion. I think they have pushed on this season from last.
“The amazing thing is that they always sell their so-called better players and replace them with just as good players. That’s credit to the club’s philosophy and certainly to the manager.”
Mepham experienced a season of contrasting fortunes, starting 17 of the Cherries’ first 18 games in the Championship before injury robbed him of his place.
“It’s been frustrating,” said the Hammersmith-born 23-year-old. “Heading into the season, I just wanted to stay injury-free.
“I was really pleased with how I was performing and how my body was coping with the demands of the Championship.
“Over the Christmas period, unfortunately, I picked up a calf injury which kept me out for the best part of a couple of months.
“When you come back, it always takes a couple of games to get back into your rhythm. I didn’t have a run of games to allow me to do that so opportunities were limited from that point onwards.
“But when you look at the back four, how they have been performing and the run we went on, I think everyone who was playing deserved to be playing. Cameron Carter-Vickers came in and has been top drawer.
“The most important thing is that the team does well and that’s all I’m hoping for over the next couple of weeks.”
Mepham, capped 16 times by Wales, had a watching brief from the bench as the Cherries won seven games in succession before featuring in the final two matches against Wycombe and Stoke.
Asked whether he felt finishing sixth was an accurate reflection of the season, Mepham replied: “I think so.
“There are always going to be games when you come away and feel hard done by at not getting a better result.
“There have been games where we felt we could have performed better and others where we felt we could have come away with more. But I think if you were to ask every other team that question, they would say the same.
“Ultimately, it levels itself out and you are where you deserve to be. Based on the table, we don’t deserve to be in the top two but we’ve got a great team and if we gel like we can in the play-offs then we can do well.
“There have been games this season where we have been very dominant in terms of possession and chances created and there have been games where we haven’t really felt completely pressured.
“You contrast that with the Premier League where every game you go into is a massive challenge and the players are that bit more clinical and physical.
“You’ve got less time to make decisions and, when you play in the Premier League, everything just becomes that little bit tougher. Everyone in this changing room aspires to get back to that level.
“We’ve got lads like Steve Cook and Adam Smith who have played there for years and there are lads in the team who haven’t played at that level. Everyone has a million and one reasons to get there and, hopefully, we can.”
