Ivan Toney’s farewell address got Brentford boss Thomas Frank ‘a bit emotional’

Brentford boss Thomas Frank admitted he was left ‘a bit emotional’ after Ivan Toney’s farewell address to his former team-mates.

The England forward’s move to Saudi side Al-Ahli was confirmed in the early hours of Saturday morning but he was in the stands at GTech stadium to  watch the Bees secure a 3-1 Premier League victory over Southampton later in the afternoon.

Frank did not recall Toney shedding any tears but revealed the same was not true for himself.

“Even I was a little bit emotional,” said Frank. “I said a few things and then he said something to the players.

“He has been a great player for Brentford, a Brentford legend, and I mean that. When you are in a club like ours and you score 72 goals in 141 games that’s incredible, incredible numbers.

“He’s been on a fantastic journey with us over the last four years. I enjoyed working together with him on and off the pitch.

“I think it says a lot about Ivan that he wanted to come here and say goodbye to his friends and team-mates, staff members and everyone around the team and the club.

“Ivan has been a key player for us, especially the first three years, and then of course there was disruption with the ban and everything.

“I think he’s been one of our best players, if not our best player in that period, consistently with the amount of goals for us and I think we played some fantastic football with him.”