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Over halfway through the campaign, The Bees find themselves in a dream scenario.

Following four wins in their last five outings, and a Samba striker banging in the goals, suddenly Bees fans are dreaming of thoughts of trips to Milan, Munich and Barcelona next season.

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

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

There is a long way to go yet but Brentford are firmly in the fight for continental football.

No one was predicting this last summer.

The former head coach had left for Tottenham after seven years 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 Christian Norgaard left for the North London club and goal-scoring duo two key forwards – who scored a combined of 39 goals in 2024-25 – were out the door, joining United and Newcastle United respectively.

Specialist coach Andrews was elevated to succeed the Dane, while there was no striker among the summer signings.

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

So, what is behind their success?

Igor Thiago's Historic Season

The club's decision not to sign another striker was partly down to circumstance, with Wissa's move not going through until the final day of the window.

But they also were aware they had a £30 million striker already chomping at the bit.

The 24-year-old joined from Belgium in the summer 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 double against Sunderland taking him to 16 league goals – the highest tally by a player from Brazil in a single Premier League campaign.

Considering the countrymen who have preceded him, that is some accomplishment, especially with 17 games left to play.

"He's been a revelation," pundit an analyst said. "He's physically intimidating, fast, powerful, but technically better than people think. Excellent with his feet, both feet, he can score off both. You can see he's full of confidence. His statistics are fantastic. He must be so proud. That's a huge 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 level he is operating 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 Black Cats was his 7th opener of the season. Given how often we are told the significance of the first goal in a game, having someone you can rely on to take that first big chance cannot be underestimated.

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

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

Given the hardships he had in his youth, where he labored in construction to provide for his family following the death of his father, perhaps it should be no surprise that pressure on the pitch is something he handles with ease.

"Our scouts deserve a lot of credit for the kind of players they bring in and characters," Andrews said. "It is really notable. He is a really unique person who has fitted into life very well. He has had to earn this path. He has worked for his journey and grafted. 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."

Andrews Showing Doubters 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 key individuals – Ivan Toney, Christian Eriksen, Mbeumo and Wissa – under Frank, they were always seen as a team more effective 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.

Consequently, appointing Andrews, with a blank managerial CV, and just a year 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 world's toughest league and having made the leap from specialist coach to the top job.

But given that Ipswich Town manager Kieran McKenna was the only other option that the hierarchy looked at, they were clearly convinced 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 vindicated.

Andrews won just a single of his first 5 league games in charge but big home victories against United, the Reds and Newcastle have since occurred.

Wins 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 well. We are playing with bravery and belief in everything we do with or without the ball," he added. "We are happy with how we are going but we want to keep pushing."

In a league where fourth and 15th are currently separated by just eight points, they have little choice, because things could rapidly look very otherwise.

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