Thomas Frank urges Ivan Toney to ‘prove people wrong’ for Brentford after missing out on England debut

Thomas Frank has backed Ivan Toney to bounce back from the disappointment of missing out on an England debut during the international break.

Toney received his first call-up to the squad for the recent Nations League fixtures, but was left out of the squad to face Italy and then did not come off the bench during the thrilling draw against Germany at Wembley.

It leaves the 26-year-old with an uphill task to force his way into Gareth Southgate’s squad for Qatar, with the Three Lions now not in action until their opening group-stage match against Iran on November 21.

While Frank admitted he was disappointed Toney did not get the chance to impress, and Brentford’s wait for a first England international since 1939 goes on, he accepted Southgate had many other factors to consider and urged the Bees striker to continue making his case at club level.

“Obviously it was a big thing for Ivan to go into the England camp,” Frank said in his press conference ahead of the trip to face Bournemouth this weekend.

“No matter if he didn’t come on the pitch, it was still a big moment in his life and a big thing.

“Unfortunately he didn’t come on the pitch. Of course he wanted to play, of course I wanted him to play, the Brentford fans, all of us hoped that he would come on the pitch, but it’s Gareth’s decision and I know how it is to be a head coach.

“There are 1,000 things to consider. You need to think the best for the team and not an individual player. As far as I know there was quite a few other players that didn’t come on the pitch.

“From our perspective, and we only look from our side of the elephant, it’s difficult to see the bigger perspective. Of course we wanted him on the pitch, but it’s Gareth’s decision and he’s done a very good job for England.

“The way to get success is to show resilience and come back from smaller setbacks. Ivan hoped to get on the pitch - we need to move forward and prove people wrong by performing well. Ivan has a strong mentality.”