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More than the midpoint of the season, The Bees are in fantasy land.

With four wins in five games, and a Samba striker netting the goals, suddenly supporters find themselves drifting off with thoughts of trips to European capitals next season.

A convincing three-nil win over Sunderland moved their manager's side into fifth in the top flight – a place that was good enough to secure Champions League football last term.

Only table-toppers Arsenal have gathered more points over the past six games.

There is a significant distance to go yet but Brentford are squarely in the race for continental football.

Few was envisioning this last summer.

Thomas Frank had departed for Spurs after seven years in charge, a period in which he had not only guided the club promoted but also established them in the top flight.

Club captain Christian Norgaard left for the North London club and goal-scoring duo two key forwards – who scored a combined of 39 goals in the previous campaign – were out the door, joining Manchester United and Newcastle United respectively.

Specialist coach Andrews was elevated to replace the Dane, while there was no striker among the summer signings.

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

So, how did they pull it off?

The Brazilian's Record-breaking Season

Brentford's decision not to sign another striker was partly down to timing, with one forward's move not being finalized until the final day of the window.

But they also were aware 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 fitness issues in his first campaign, going without a goal in his initial outings.

The 24-year-old has set about making up for lost time this season, though, with his brace against the Wearside club taking him to 16 league goals – the highest tally by a player from Brazil in a single English top-flight campaign.

Considering the fellow Brazilians who have preceded him, that is a remarkable feat, especially with seventeen matches left to play.

"He's been a revelation," pundit an analyst said. "He is a physical specimen, fast, powerful, but technically better than people think. Excellent with his feet, either foot, he can score with both. You can see he's brimming with confidence. His statistics are fantastic. He must be so proud. That's a huge compliment to him."

That only Erling Haaland, Harry Kane and Kylian Mbappe have scored more in any of Europe's top five leagues to this point underscores the level he is operating at.

And it is not just the volume but the crucial nature of the goals that have been so important for Brentford.

His first goal against the opposition was his seventh first goal of a game of the season. Considering how often we are told the importance of the initial strike in a game, having someone you can depend on to take that early opportunity cannot be underestimated.

Prior to the game against Sunderland, no player to have attempted at least thirty efforts this season has a better shot accuracy rate than Igor Thiago's 59.1 percent.

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

Given the hardships he had earlier in life, where he labored in construction to provide for his family following the death of his father, perhaps it should be no surprise that high-stakes situations on the pitch is something he handles with ease.

"The recruitment team deserve a lot of praise for the type of players they bring in and personalities," Andrews said. "It is really notable. He is a really unique person who has fitted into life very nicely. He has had to earn this path. He has earned his journey and toiled. He has got serious grit about his personality. He is improving his abilities constantly and we are discovering more and more about him. He is a largely all-round centre-forward."

Andrews Showing Doubters Incorrect

Their star striker is the man of the moment but Brentford are not and have never been a single-player team.

While they had star players – Ivan Toney, Christian Eriksen, Mbeumo and Wissa – under their previous boss, they were always seen as a team stronger than the individual components.

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 avoid relegation.

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 gamble.

A maiden role is a challenge for anyone, let alone when it comes in the world's toughest league and having made the leap from set-piece coach to the top job.

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

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

The new boss won just a single of his first five league games in charge but big home victories against Manchester United, the Reds and the Magpies have since occurred.

Wins that, following their excellent recent run, could prove increasingly important in the pursuit for Europe.

"We're in good form and playing really well. We are playing with bravery and conviction in everything we do with or without the ball," Andrews added. "We are happy with how we are going but we want to keep striving."

In a league where the European spots and the lower mid-table are currently separated by just eight points, they have little choice, because things could quickly look very otherwise.

But, for now, Brentford are defying the odds. And the longer that lasts, the closer to fruition those aspirations of the continent will become.