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

Following four wins in their last five outings, and a Samba striker netting the goals, suddenly Bees fans find themselves drifting off with thoughts of trips to Milan, Munich and Barcelona next season.

A convincing three-nil win over the Black Cats moved their manager's side into fifth in the Premier League – a place that was sufficient to secure European football last term.

Solely leaders the Gunners have accumulated more points over the past half-dozen matches.

There's a long way to go yet but the West London outfit are firmly in the fight for continental football.

No one was predicting this last summer.

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

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

Specialist coach Andrews was elevated to replace Frank, while there was a notable absence of a centre-forward among the summer signings.

A year of difficulty, possibly even relegation, was widely predicted. Yet here we are in January with the club in the top five.

So, how have they managed it?

Igor Thiago's Record-breaking Campaign

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

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 club record fee, but was plagued by fitness issues in his debut campaign, going goalless in his initial outings.

Thiago has gone about making up for lost time this season, though, with his double against Sunderland taking him to sixteen league goals – the highest tally by a Brazilian in a single Premier League campaign.

Given the countrymen who have come before him, that is a remarkable feat, especially with seventeen matches remaining.

"He has been a revelation," former Liverpool midfielder Danny Murphy said. "He's physically intimidating, quick, powerful, but technically better than people think. Excellent with his feet, both feet, he can score off both. You can see he's brimming with confidence. His statistics are incredible. He must be so pleased. That's a big 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 highlights the level he is playing at.

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

His opener against the opposition was his seventh opener 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 first big chance cannot be underestimated.

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

He hits the target. Do that often enough and the goals will – and have – come.

Given the struggles he had earlier in life, 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 takes in his stride.

"The recruitment team deserve a lot of credit for the type of players they bring in and characters," Andrews said. "It is really impressive. He is a really special person who has adapted to life very well. He has had to forge this path. He has worked for his journey and grafted. He has got real determination about his personality. He is developing his abilities constantly and we are learning more and more about him. He is a pretty complete centre-forward."

The Manager Showing Sceptics Wrong

Igor Thiago is the man of the moment but Brentford are not and have never been a one-man band.

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 sum of their parts.

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

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

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

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

The new boss won just one of his first five league games in charge but significant home victories against United, Liverpool and Newcastle have followed.

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

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

In a league where the European spots and the lower mid-table 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 continues, the closer to reality those dreams of Europe will become.