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

With four wins in their last five outings, and a Brazilian striker banging in the goals, suddenly supporters are dreaming of thoughts of trips to European capitals next season.

A comprehensive 3-0 win over Sunderland moved Keith Andrews' side into fifth in the top flight – a place that was sufficient to secure European football last term.

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

There's a long way to go yet but Brentford are firmly in the battle for European football.

No one was predicting this last summer.

The former head coach had departed for Spurs after a seven-year stint in charge, a period in which he had not only got the club to the Premier League but also cemented them in the elite division.

Skipper their Danish midfielder left for Arsenal and attacking duo Bryan Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa – 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 Frank, while there was no striker among the off-season arrivals.

A season of struggle, possibly even the drop, was widely predicted. But here we are in the new year with Brentford in the top five.

So, how did they pull it off?

The Brazilian's Historic Campaign

The club'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 were aware they had a £30 million striker already chomping at the bit.

The 24-year-old joined from Belgium in July 2024 for a then club record fee, but was plagued by fitness issues in his debut campaign, going without a goal in eight appearances.

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 English top-flight campaign.

Given the fellow Brazilians who have come before him, that is some accomplishment, especially with seventeen matches left to play.

"He's been a breath of fresh air," pundit an analyst said. "He's a physical specimen, fast, powerful, but more skilled than people think. Good with his feet, either foot, he can score off both. You can see he's brimming with confidence. These numbers 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 standard he is operating at.

And it is not just the quantity but the timing of the goals that have been so pivotal for his team.

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 early opportunity cannot be overstated.

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

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

Given the struggles he had in his youth, where he worked as a bricklayer 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.

"Our scouts deserve a lot of praise for the kind 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 real determination about his personality. He is improving his skill set constantly and we are learning more and more about him. He is a pretty complete centre-forward."

The Manager Showing Doubters Wrong

Their star striker is the headline act but the team are not and have never been a one-man band.

While they had key individuals – a host of talent – under Frank, 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 their parts alone might not be enough to avoid relegation.

Consequently, appointing Andrews, with a blank managerial CV, 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 test for anyone, let alone when it comes in the Premier League and having made the leap from set-piece coach to the manager's office.

But given that Ipswich boss 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 key decision makers at the club, it looks as if they were spot on.

The new boss won just one of his first 5 league games in charge but big home victories against Manchester United, Liverpool and the Magpies have since occurred.

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

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

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 different.

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