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Over the midpoint of the campaign, Brentford are in fantasy land.

With four wins in five games, and a Samba striker banging in the goals, suddenly supporters find themselves drifting off with thoughts of trips to Milan, Munich and Barcelona next season.

A convincing three-nil win over the Black Cats moved their manager's side into the fifth spot in the top flight – a position that was sufficient to secure Champions League football last season.

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

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

No one was envisioning 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 guided the club to the Premier League but also cemented them in the top flight.

Skipper 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 2024-25 – were out the door, joining United and Newcastle United respectively.

Set-piece coach Andrews was promoted to succeed Frank, while there was no striker among the off-season arrivals.

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

So, how did they pull it off?

The Brazilian's Historic Campaign

Brentford's decision not to sign another striker was partly down to circumstance, with Wissa's move not going through until deadline day.

But they also were aware they had a £30m striker already ready and waiting.

The 24-year-old joined from Club Brugge in the summer for a then club record fee, but was plagued by injury in his first campaign, going without a goal in eight appearances.

Thiago has gone about making up for lost time this season, though, with his double against Sunderland taking him to sixteen league goals – the most by a Brazilian in a single English top-flight campaign.

Given the countrymen who have come before him, that is a remarkable feat, especially with seventeen matches left to play.

"He has been a breath of fresh air," pundit Danny Murphy said. "He is physically intimidating, quick, strong, but technically better than people think. Good with his feet, both feet, he can score with both. You can see he's brimming with confidence. His statistics are incredible. 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 volume but the timing of the goals that have been so pivotal for Brentford.

His first goal 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 rely on to take that first big chance cannot be overstated.

Prior to the game against Sunderland, no player to have attempted at least 30 shots this season has a better shot accuracy rate than the striker's 59.1 percent.

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

Considering the struggles he had earlier in life, where he labored in construction to support his family following the passing of his father, perhaps it should be unsurprising that high-stakes situations on the pitch is something he handles with ease.

"The recruitment team deserve a lot of praise for the kind of players they bring in and personalities," Andrews 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 worked for 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 all-round centre-forward."

The Manager Proving Sceptics Wrong

Igor Thiago is the man of the moment but the team are not and have never been a single-player team.

While they had star players – 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 Dane left, that may not be the case, and that the collective quality of Brentford's parts alone might not be enough to avoid relegation.

Consequently, appointing their set-piece coach, with a blank managerial CV, and just a twelve months at the club was seen by those external observers 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 jump from specialist coach to the manager's office.

But given that Ipswich Town manager one candidate was the only other option 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 the club, it looks as if they were correct.

Andrews won just a single of his first five league games in charge but significant home victories against Manchester United, Liverpool and Newcastle have followed.

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

"We're in good form and playing really good. We are playing with courage and conviction in everything we do with or without the ball," Andrews added. "We are pleased with how we are going but we want to keep pushing."

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 otherwise.

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