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More than halfway through the season, Brentford find themselves in fantasy land.

Following four wins in five games, and a Samba striker scoring the goals, suddenly supporters are dreaming of thoughts of trips to European capitals next season.

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

Solely leaders Arsenal have gathered more points over the past six games.

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

No one was envisioning this last summer.

The former head coach had left for Spurs after seven years in charge, a period in which he had not only guided the club to the Premier League but also established them in the top flight.

Skipper Christian Norgaard left for Arsenal and attacking duo Bryan Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa – who scored a total of thirty-nine goals in the previous campaign – were also sold, joining Manchester United and Newcastle United respectively.

Set-piece coach Andrews was promoted to succeed Frank, while there was a notable absence of a centre-forward among the off-season arrivals.

A season of struggle, possibly even the drop, was forecast. 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 Campaign

The club's decision not to bring in another striker was in part down to timing, with one forward's move not going through 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 Belgium 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.

Thiago has gone about making up for lost time this season, though, with his brace against the Wearside club taking him to 16 league goals – the most by a player from Brazil in a single Premier League campaign.

Given the countrymen who have come before him, that is some accomplishment, especially with 17 games left to play.

"He's 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 fantastic. He must be so proud. 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 underscores the level he is operating at.

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

His opener against the Black Cats was his seventh opener of the season. Considering how often we are told the importance 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 the striker's 59.1%.

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

Considering the struggles he had in his youth, 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.

"Our scouts deserve a lot of praise for the kind 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 toiled. He has got serious grit about his personality. He is improving his skill set constantly and we are discovering 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 the team are not and have never been a one-man band.

While they had star players – a host of talent – under Frank, they were always seen as a team more effective than the individual components.

The fear was that once the manager 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 no previous managerial experience, and just a twelve months at the club was seen by those external observers 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 leap from set-piece coach to the top job.

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

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

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

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

"We are in good form and playing really well. We are playing with bravery and belief in everything we do with or without the ball," he added. "We're pleased 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 a handful of points, they have little choice, because things could quickly look very different.

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