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Over halfway through the campaign, The Bees are in fantasy land.

With 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 Sunderland moved Keith Andrews' side into fifth in the top flight – a position that was good enough to secure Champions League football last season.

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

There's a significant distance to go yet but the West London outfit are squarely in the race for continental football.

Few was envisioning this last summer.

The former head coach had departed for Tottenham after a seven-year stint in charge, a period in which he had not only guided the club promoted but also cemented them in the top flight.

Club captain Christian Norgaard left for the North London club 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 Keith Andrews was promoted to replace the Dane, while there was no striker among the summer signings.

A season of difficulty, possibly even the drop, was widely predicted. But here we are in January with the club 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 in part down to circumstance, 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 debut campaign, going without a goal in eight appearances.

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 highest tally by a player from Brazil in a single English top-flight campaign.

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

"He's been a revelation," former Liverpool midfielder Danny Murphy said. "He's a physical specimen, fast, strong, but more skilled than people think. Good with his feet, either foot, he can score off both. You can see he's full of confidence. His statistics are fantastic. He must be so pleased. That's a huge compliment to him."

That only Erling Haaland, Harry Kane and Kylian Mbappe have scored more in any of the continent's major leagues to this point highlights the standard he is playing at.

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

His first goal against the Black Cats was his 7th first goal of a game of the season. Considering how often we are told the importance of the first goal in a game, having someone you can rely on to take that first big chance cannot be overstated.

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

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

Considering the struggles he had in his youth, where he labored in construction to support his family following the passing of his father, perhaps it should be no surprise that pressure on the pitch is something he handles with ease.

"The recruitment team deserve a lot of credit for the type of players they bring in and characters," the manager said. "It is really notable. He is a really special person who has adapted to life very nicely. He has had to earn this path. He has earned his journey and grafted. He has got serious grit about his personality. He is developing his abilities constantly and we are discovering more and more about him. He is a largely all-round centre-forward."

Andrews Proving Sceptics Incorrect

Their star striker is the man of the moment but Brentford are not and have never been a one-man band.

While they had key individuals – a host of talent – under their previous boss, they were always seen as a team more effective than the individual components.

The fear was that once the Dane left, that may not be the case, and that the sum of their 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 test for anyone, let alone when it comes in the Premier League and having made the jump from set-piece coach to the top job.

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

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

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

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

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

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 different.

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