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Over the midpoint of the season, The Bees find themselves in fantasy land.

With four wins in their last five outings, and a Brazilian striker banging in the goals, suddenly Bees fans are dreaming of thoughts of trips to European capitals next season.

A comprehensive 3-0 win over the Black Cats moved Keith Andrews' side into the fifth spot in the top flight – a place that was sufficient to secure European football last term.

Only table-toppers the Gunners have gathered more points over the past half-dozen matches.

There is a long way to go yet but the West London outfit are squarely in the fight for continental football.

No one was envisioning this last off-season.

The former head coach had left for Tottenham after a seven-year stint in charge, a period in which he had not only got the club to the Premier League but also established them in the top flight.

Club captain their Danish midfielder left for Arsenal and goal-scoring duo two key forwards – who scored a combined of 39 goals in 2024-25 – were also sold, joining United and Newcastle respectively.

Set-piece coach Keith Andrews was promoted to succeed the Dane, while there was no striker among the summer signings.

A season of struggle, possibly even the drop, was widely predicted. Yet here we are in the new year with Brentford in the top five.

So, how did they pull it off?

The Brazilian's Historic Campaign

The club's decision not to sign another striker was in part down to circumstance, with Wissa's move not being finalized until deadline day.

But they also knew they had a £30m striker already ready and waiting.

Igor Thiago joined from Club Brugge in the summer for a then club record fee, but was plagued by injury in his debut campaign, going goalless in eight appearances.

Thiago has set about compensating for lost time this season, though, with his double against the Wearside club taking him to 16 league goals – the highest tally by a Brazilian in a single Premier League campaign.

Given the fellow Brazilians who have come before him, that is a remarkable feat, especially with 17 games left to play.

"He's been a breath of fresh air," pundit Danny Murphy said. "He is physically intimidating, fast, strong, but more skilled than people think. Excellent with his feet, either foot, he can score off both. You can see he's full of confidence. These numbers are fantastic. He must be so proud. That's a huge compliment to him."

That only a trio of global superstars have scored more in any of Europe's top five leagues to this point shows the level he is operating at.

And it is not just the quantity but the timing of the goals that have been so important for his team.

His first goal against the Black Cats was his seventh opener of the season. Considering how often we are told the significance of the initial strike in a game, having someone you can rely on to take that first big chance cannot be underestimated.

Prior to the game against Sunderland, no player to have attempted at least 30 shots this season has a better shooting accuracy than the striker's 59.1%.

He hits the target. Achieve that consistently and the goals will – and have – come.

Given the hardships he had in his youth, where he worked as a bricklayer to support his family following the death of his father, perhaps it should be unsurprising that pressure on the pitch is something he handles with ease.

"The recruitment team deserve a lot of praise for the kind of players they bring in and characters," Andrews said. "This is really impressive. He is a really special person who has fitted into life very well. He has had to forge this path. He has earned his journey and toiled. He has got real determination about his personality. He is improving his abilities constantly and we are learning more and more about him. He is a pretty all-round centre-forward."

Andrews Proving Doubters Wrong

Igor Thiago is the headline act but the team are not and have never been a single-player team.

While they had key individuals – a host of talent – under their previous boss, they were always seen as a team stronger than the sum of their parts.

The fear was that once the Dane left, that may not be the case, and that the sum of Brentford's parts alone might not be enough to stay up.

As a result, appointing their set-piece coach, with no previous managerial experience, and just a twelve months at the club was seen by those external observers as a huge risk.

A first managerial job is a test for anyone, especially when it comes in the Premier League and having made the jump from set-piece coach to the manager's office.

But given that Ipswich Town manager Kieran McKenna was the only other alternative that Brentford looked at, they were clearly confident they had the correct candidate.

To date, as often seems to be the case with the key decision makers at the club, it looks as if they were correct.

Andrews won just a single of his first five league games in charge but significant home victories against United, the Reds and Newcastle have since occurred.

Results that, following their brilliant recent form, could prove increasingly important in the race for European qualification.

"We are in good form and playing really good. We are playing with courage and conviction in everything we do with and without the ball," Andrews added. "We are pleased with how we are going but we want to keep improving."

In a league where fourth and 15th are currently separated by just a handful of points, they have no other option, because things could quickly look very otherwise.

But, for now, Brentford are beating the predictions. And the longer that lasts, the closer to fruition those aspirations of Europe will become.