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More than the midpoint of the campaign, Brentford find themselves in fantasy land.

With four wins in five games, and a Samba striker banging in the goals, suddenly Bees fans find themselves drifting off with 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 sufficient to secure Champions League football last term.

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

There's a long way to go yet but the West London outfit are firmly in the race for continental football.

Few was forecasting this last off-season.

Thomas Frank had left for Tottenham 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.

Club captain Christian Norgaard left for Arsenal and goal-scoring duo Bryan Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa – who scored a total of thirty-nine goals in 2024-25 – were out the door, joining United and Newcastle respectively.

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

A year of struggle, possibly even relegation, was widely predicted. But here we are in January with the club in the upper echelons.

So, how have they managed it?

Igor Thiago's Record-breaking Season

Brentford's decision not to sign another striker was in part down to timing, with Wissa's move not going through until the final day of the window.

But they also knew they had a £30 million striker already ready and waiting.

Igor Thiago joined from Club Brugge in July 2024 for a then club record fee, but was hindered by fitness issues in his first campaign, going goalless in his initial outings.

Thiago has gone about compensating for lost time this season, though, with his brace against Sunderland taking him to 16 league goals – the highest tally by a player from Brazil in a single Premier League campaign.

Given the fellow Brazilians who have come before him, that is some accomplishment, especially with 17 games remaining.

"He's been a revelation," pundit an analyst said. "He is physically intimidating, fast, powerful, but technically better than people think. Good with his feet, both feet, he can score off both. You can see he's brimming with confidence. His statistics are incredible. He must be so pleased. That's a big 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 operating at.

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

His first goal against the Black Cats was his 7th opener of the season. Given how often we are told the importance of the initial strike in a game, having someone you can depend on to take that early opportunity cannot be underestimated.

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

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 worked as a bricklayer 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 personalities," the manager said. "This is really impressive. 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 toiled. He has got real determination about his personality. He is improving his abilities constantly and we are learning more and more about him. He is a largely complete centre-forward."

Andrews Showing Sceptics Wrong

Their star striker is the man of the moment but Brentford are not and have never been a single-player team.

While they had key individuals – Ivan Toney, Christian Eriksen, Mbeumo and Wissa – under their previous boss, they were always seen as a team stronger than the sum of their parts.

The fear was that once the manager left, that may not be the case, and that the collective quality of their parts alone might not be enough to stay up.

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 first managerial job is a challenge for anyone, especially when it comes in the Premier League and having made the leap from specialist coach to the manager's office.

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

So far, as often seems to be the case with the brains trust at Brentford, 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 United, Liverpool and Newcastle have followed.

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

"We are in fine fettle and playing really good. We are playing with courage and belief in everything we do with or without the ball," he added. "We're happy 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 otherwise.

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