Brentford boss Thomas Frank shares honest verdict on Ivan Toney and Nathan Collins disagreement

Brentford’s manager, Thomas Frank, has dismissed any concerns over the heated exchange between Ivan Toney and Nathan Collins following their 3-3 draw against Aston Villa.

Aston Villa seemed to be securing their place in fourth position after Ollie Watkins and Morgan Rogers scored goals on either side of the half-time break. However, the game took a dramatic turn when Brentford scored three goals in just nine minutes, courtesy of Mathias Jorgensen, Bryan Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa.

Despite a late header from Watkins salvaging a point for Villa, the result gave Tottenham an advantage in the race for guaranteed Champions League qualification. Meanwhile, Brentford now find themselves only four points clear of relegation-threatened Luton in the Premier League standings.

Tensions flared between Toney and Collins at the final whistle, with Toney appearing to be upset about Collins’ decision not to pass him the ball. When asked about the incident, Frank said: “I don’t know, I was over there speaking to them but I don’t know exactly what it was and I don’t really care.

“I know it is two very competitive people that want to win a match. I don’t know exactly what it was the situation, but we have a very good culture and a united team and it is OK to have a little bit of friction.

“They will sort it out no problem.”

The disagreement may have stemmed from Brentford’s winless streak extending to nine games, as they failed to secure a victory despite taking the lead.

“Fantastic game and brand for the Premier League, this is showing why it is the best league in the world and the most entertaining,” added the Danish manager.

“Probably Unai [Emery] and I would say we both should have won the game, both can argue well for why we should, OK in the end it’s a fair result. I think it is a fine point but it is two points dropped when we are leading in that situation and we haven’t been able to get over the line. But the performance is another step in the right direction.”

Aston Villa boss Unai Emery admitted he was disappointed at his side’s failure to win.

“We are disappointed and frustrated because we played very well until the minute 60 and after the minute 75, but in 10 minutes in the Premier League we know we can lose everything we have built before,” Emery said. “The mentality of the team we always have to work and increasing and be demanding, this is a process.

“Today, everybody is a little bit upset and not understanding clearly what happened. I will work with the players and tell them how we can continue in our way, being successful like we are, with 60 points after 32 games is more than our expectation before.

“But we have to be demanding to compete but we can draw a match like today when we lose a little bit of focus in the moment. The first 60 minutes I played like I really want, like we have played here before when we won a lot of matches in a row, it was completely difficult to understand how we played afterwards. It is my responsibility and I will work on it.”