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Over halfway through the campaign, Brentford are in dreamland.

With victories in their last five outings, and a Samba striker scoring the goals, suddenly Bees fans are envisioning thoughts of trips to European capitals next season.

A emphatic 3-0 win over Sunderland moved Keith Andrews' side into the fifth spot in the Premier League – a place that was good enough to secure European football last term.

Solely leaders the Gunners have accumulated more points over the past six games.

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

Few was envisioning this last off-season.

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

Club captain their Danish midfielder left for Arsenal and attacking duo Bryan Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa – who scored a combined of thirty-nine goals in 2024-25 – were also sold, joining Manchester United and Newcastle United respectively.

Set-piece coach Keith Andrews was elevated to succeed Frank, while there was a notable absence of a centre-forward among the summer signings.

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

So, how have they managed it?

The Brazilian's Record-breaking Season

The club's decision not to bring in another striker was partly down to timing, with one forward's move not being finalized until deadline day.

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

Igor Thiago joined from Belgium in the summer for a then-record fee, but was hindered by injury in his debut campaign, going without a goal in his initial outings.

The 24-year-old has set about compensating for lost time this season, though, with his double against the Wearside club taking him to 16 league goals – the most by a player from Brazil in a single English top-flight campaign.

Considering the fellow Brazilians who have preceded him, that is some accomplishment, especially with 17 games remaining.

"He has been a revelation," former Liverpool midfielder an analyst said. "He's a physical specimen, fast, powerful, but technically better than people think. Good with his feet, either foot, 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 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 underscores the standard he is playing at.

And it is not just the quantity 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. Given how often we are told the significance of the first goal in a game, having someone you can rely on to take that early opportunity cannot be overstated.

Before 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 percent.

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

Considering 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 high-stakes situations on the pitch is something he takes in his stride.

"The recruitment team deserve a lot of praise for the type of players they bring in and personalities," Andrews said. "It is really impressive. He is a really special person who has fitted into life very nicely. He has had to earn this path. He has worked for his journey and toiled. He has got real determination about his personality. He is developing his abilities constantly and we are learning more and more about him. He is a pretty all-round centre-forward."

Andrews Proving Doubters Wrong

Igor Thiago is the headline act but Brentford are not and have never been a one-man band.

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 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 stay up.

Consequently, appointing Andrews, with no previous managerial experience, and just a year 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 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 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 brains trust at Brentford, it looks as if they were correct.

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

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

"We're in fine fettle and playing really good. We are playing with bravery 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 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 rapidly look very otherwise.

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