Kevin O’Connor’s ongoing contribution to Brentford Football Club has been recognised with a room at the new Robert Rowan Performance Centre named in his honour.

The Kevin O’Connor Room, which will be used by the first team staff and players at the new Performance Centre, was unveiled last Monday, 12 December, by head coach Thomas Frank to mark O'Connor's more than quarter-century involvement with the Club.

O'Connor said: “I was humbled when Thomas revealed that the room had been renamed; it certainly came as a shock. Robert Rowan played such a big part in my transition from playing to coaching, so to be recognised with a room in the Performance Centre which carries his name, really means something to me.

"The new Performance Centre is, alongside the new stadium, another concrete reminder of how far the Club has progressed and I’m extremely proud to be a part of this ongoing journey.”

After joining as a schoolboy in 1995, O'Connor signed his first professional contract in 1999, before making his debut as a 17-year-old against Exeter City in February 2000. That was the first of 501 appearances for The Bees over a 15-year period.

During his career, O'Connor scored 44 goals and captained Brentford to promotion from League Two in 2008/09 and from League One in 2013/14.

He made his 500th Brentford appearance on the final day of the 13/14 promotion-winning season and his final kick for the Club was to score the winning penalty against Dagenham and Redbridge in an EFL Cup first round shoot-out in August 2014.

Fourth on the Club’s all-time appearance list, Kevin retired in May 2015 and joined the Coaching staff full-time. After a spell as assistant head coach for the Club’s Development Squad and the newly created Brentford B, he became B Team head coach in late 2016.

Working closely with Robert Rowan, who oversaw the strategic direction of the B Team, Kevin led Brentford B until December 2018, when he took up his current role as first team assistant coach.

Kevin’s long service to the Club was recognised in May 2015 when he became the first person to be inducted into the Brentford FC Hall of Fame while still at Griffin Park, and in 2017 when he was presented with the Sir Tom Finney award at the EFL Awards.

Head coach, Thomas Frank, said: “Kevin has a big legacy at this Club, and it is only getting bigger. Every time I think about bringing a player into Brentford, and the type of character that I want them to be, I think of Kevin.

"He is the glue, and a big, big reason why we are where we are today. He embodies everything that we want to be about; togetherness, hard-work, and being confident but humble. It is only right that we have something permanent in the new Performance Centre that bears Kevin’s name.”

The Robert Rowan Performance Centre was officially unveiled in a ceremony on Friday 16 December. Robert suffered a fatal cardiomyopathy episode in the early hours of Monday 12 November 2018 and died at the age of 28. He went to bed the night before and died in his sleep. He left behind Suzanne, who he married in November 2016.

Robert had been technical director since February 2018 and had been with Brentford for just short of four years. Both the temporary facility and a permanent performance centre, when plans are finalised, will carry Robert’s name.