Thomas Frank admits Christian Eriksen will be impossible to replace after Brentford ran out 1-0 victors in their final pre-season game against Real Betis. 

Bryan Mbeumo’s first-half strike was enough to separate the sides at the Gtech Community Stadium in a game which featured new recruits Aaron Hickey and Ben Mee. 

Boss Frank credited his side for coming through the tough test against last season’s Copa Del Rey winners, while also addressing the challenges in coping with the Eriksen-shaped hole – the Dane moved to Manchester United this summer – in the squad going into the new campaign. 

He said: “I’m very pleased with our overall performance, it’s a solid seven or eight out of ten. 

“If we perform like this consistently in the Premier League there'll be a lot of points waiting for us, so I'm very pleased with that. 

“Playing against a good Betis side who finished fifth in La Liga, winning the Copa Del Rey with some very good players out there so it was a very good test for us. 

“Defensively we were very solid, giving away only a chance that was our fault. 

“Besides that I think we scored a very good goal and made some very good chances so on the basis of that it’s very positive.”

“I’ve said many times I would have loved him to stay,” he added, when asked whether the current squad can fill the void left by the Danish midfielder’s departure to Manchester United. 

“He obviously brought a lot of quality to us, we can’t replace that, that’s impossible. 

“But we can hopefully replace it with something different so when a player goes out and another comes in you tweak things that create other relations, other dynamics. 

“That hopefully constructs a different game where we can still create a lot of chances. 

“It’s about how I can construct a team to get as close as possible to get the output the team got with Christian in it.”

The Bees impressed in their debut Premier League season and finished 13th with 46 points, though it was the winter addition of Eriksen which aided their top-flight survival. 

Frank will be acutely aware of the spectre which has befallen several clubs in Premier League of years past - the oft cited second season syndrome.

And he is eager to ensure his side start their campaign as their mean to go on against Leicester. 

The 48-year-old welcomed the return of another Christian - Norgaard - who he confirmed will start at the King Power on Sunday afternoon. 

He added: “Our best players need to be fit and available like any other team. 

“Christian is one of our best players and what a difference, what an impact [he made] when he stepped on that pitch. 

“Good to see him out there and happy to see him out there against Leicester. 

“That's the thing I can promise, he will start against Leicester.”