It is a glorious August evening at Brentford’s new Community Stadium and manager Thomas Frank is holding forth at a drinks party.
The season has yet to start. In three days, Brentford will record that 2-0 defeat of Arsenal here in their inaugural Premier League fixture.
Right now, the manager, along with the club’s directors of football, Phil Giles and Rasmus Ankersen, are hosting an informal reception for the media, a moment of serenity before the bedlam of the season.
Frank is engaging company, talking about his unexalted football pedigree in Denmark, his family, his life and his love of London, when suddenly there comes an awkward turn in the conversation.