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

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

A comprehensive three-nil win over the Black Cats moved Keith Andrews' side into fifth in the top flight – a position that was good enough to secure European football last term.

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

There's a significant distance to go yet but Brentford are firmly in the race for European 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 to the Premier League but also cemented them in the top flight.

Skipper their Danish midfielder left for Arsenal and goal-scoring duo Bryan Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa – who scored a total of thirty-nine goals in the previous campaign – were also sold, joining United and Newcastle respectively.

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

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

So, how did they pull it off?

Igor Thiago's Historic Season

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

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

The 24-year-old joined from Belgium in July 2024 for a then club record fee, but was hindered by injury in his debut campaign, going goalless in his initial outings.

The 24-year-old has gone about making up for lost time this season, though, with his brace against the Wearside club taking him to sixteen league goals – the most by a Brazilian in a single Premier League campaign.

Given the countrymen who have preceded him, that is some accomplishment, especially with seventeen matches remaining.

"He has been a breath of fresh air," former Liverpool midfielder an analyst said. "He's physically intimidating, quick, powerful, but technically better than people think. Excellent with his feet, either foot, he can score with both. You can see he's full of 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 the continent's major leagues to this point shows the standard he is operating at.

And it is not just the volume 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 first goal in a game, having someone you can depend on to take that first big chance cannot be overstated.

Prior to the game against their opponents, 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. Achieve that often enough and the goals will – and have – come.

Given the hardships he had in his youth, where he labored in construction 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 praise for the kind of players they bring in and personalities," the manager said. "This is really notable. He is a really special 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 real determination about his personality. He is developing his abilities constantly and we are discovering more and more about him. He is a pretty all-round centre-forward."

The Manager Showing Sceptics Incorrect

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

While they had star players – a host of talent – under their previous boss, they were always seen as a team more effective 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 avoid relegation.

As a result, appointing Andrews, with no previous managerial experience, and just a year at the club was seen by those external observers as a huge risk.

A first managerial job is a challenge for anyone, let alone when it comes in the world's toughest league and having made the jump from specialist coach to the top job.

But given that Ipswich Town manager one candidate was the only other alternative that the hierarchy looked at, they were clearly confident they had the right man.

So far, as often seems to be the case with the brains trust at Brentford, it looks as if they were spot on.

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

Results that, following their excellent recent run, could prove all the more important in the race for European qualification.

"We are 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'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 a handful of points, they have little choice, because things could rapidly look very otherwise.

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