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Over halfway through the campaign, The Bees are in dreamland.

With victories 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 fifth in the Premier League – a place that was sufficient to secure European football last term.

Solely table-toppers Arsenal have accumulated more points over the past six games.

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

Few was forecasting this last summer.

The former head coach had departed for Tottenham after seven years in charge, a period in which he had not only got the club promoted but also cemented them in the elite division.

Skipper their Danish midfielder left for the North London club and goal-scoring duo Bryan Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa – who scored a combined of 39 goals in the previous campaign – were also sold, joining Manchester United and Newcastle United respectively.

Set-piece coach Keith Andrews was promoted to replace Frank, while there was no striker among the off-season arrivals.

A season of struggle, possibly even relegation, was forecast. Yet here we are in the new year with Brentford in the upper echelons.

So, how did they pull it off?

The Brazilian's Historic Campaign

Brentford's decision not to sign another striker was in part down to circumstance, with one forward's move not going through until deadline day.

But they also knew they had a £30m striker already waiting to go.

Igor Thiago joined from Club Brugge in July 2024 for a then-record fee, but was plagued by injury in his debut campaign, going goalless in his initial outings.

Thiago has set about making up for lost time this season, though, with his brace against Sunderland taking him to sixteen league goals – the most by a player from Brazil in a single Premier League campaign.

Considering the countrymen who have come before him, that is some accomplishment, especially with seventeen matches left to play.

"He's been a revelation," pundit an analyst said. "He's a physical specimen, quick, strong, but more skilled than people think. Good with his feet, both feet, he can score off both. You can see he's brimming with confidence. These numbers are incredible. He must be so pleased. That's a big 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 volume but the timing of the goals that have been so vital for his team.

His first goal against the opposition was his 7th opener of the season. Given how often we are told the significance of the first goal in a game, having someone you can rely on to take that first big chance cannot be underestimated.

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

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

Considering the struggles he had in his youth, where he labored in construction to provide for his family following the passing of his father, perhaps it should be unsurprising that pressure on the pitch is something he takes in his stride.

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

The Manager Showing Doubters Wrong

Igor Thiago is the man of the moment but Brentford are not and have never been a single-player team.

While they had key individuals – Ivan Toney, Christian Eriksen, Mbeumo and Wissa – under Frank, they were always seen as a team stronger than the individual components.

The fear was that once the manager left, that may not be the case, and that the collective quality of their parts alone might not be enough to stay up.

Consequently, appointing Andrews, with no previous managerial experience, and just a twelve months at the club was seen by those outside the club as a huge risk.

A first managerial job is a challenge for anyone, let alone when it comes in the Premier League and having made the jump from specialist coach to the top job.

But given that Ipswich boss one candidate was the only other alternative that Brentford looked at, they were clearly confident they had the correct candidate.

So far, as often seems to be the case with the key decision makers at Brentford, it looks as if they were vindicated.

Andrews won just one of his first 5 league games in charge but significant home victories against United, the Reds and the Magpies have followed.

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

"We're in fine fettle and playing really well. We are playing with courage and conviction in everything we do with or without the ball," he added. "We're pleased with how we are going but we want to keep pushing."

In a league where fourth and 15th are currently separated by just eight points, they have little choice, because things could quickly look very otherwise.

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