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Over halfway through the campaign, The Bees are in dreamland.

Following four wins in their last five outings, and a Samba striker netting the goals, suddenly Bees fans find themselves drifting off with thoughts of trips to Milan, Munich and Barcelona next season.

A convincing three-nil win over Sunderland moved Keith Andrews' side into fifth in the top flight – a position that was sufficient to secure European football last season.

Solely table-toppers Arsenal have gathered more points over the past six games.

There is a significant distance to go yet but Brentford are firmly in the race for continental football.

No one was forecasting this last off-season.

The former head coach had departed for Tottenham after seven years in charge, a period in which he had not only guided the club promoted but also cemented them in the top flight.

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

Specialist coach Keith Andrews was promoted to replace the Dane, while there was a notable absence of a centre-forward among the summer signings.

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

So, what is behind their success?

Igor Thiago's Historic Campaign

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

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

Igor Thiago joined from Belgium in July 2024 for a then club record fee, but was hindered by fitness issues in his first campaign, going without a goal in his initial outings.

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

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

"He has been a revelation," pundit Danny Murphy said. "He is physically intimidating, quick, strong, but more skilled 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 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 Europe's top five leagues to this point highlights the level he is playing at.

And it is not just the quantity but the crucial nature of the goals that have been so important for his team.

His opener against the Black Cats was his seventh opener of the season. Considering how often we are told the significance of the initial strike 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 shooting accuracy than Igor Thiago's 59.1%.

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

Given the struggles he had earlier in life, 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.

"The recruitment team deserve a lot of credit for the type of players they bring in and characters," Andrews said. "It is really impressive. He is a really special person who has fitted into life very well. He has had to forge this path. He has worked for 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 pretty complete centre-forward."

The Manager Showing Doubters Incorrect

Their star striker is the headline act but the team 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 concern was that once the Dane left, that may not be the case, and that the sum of their parts alone might not be enough to stay up.

As a result, appointing Andrews, with a blank managerial CV, and just a twelve months at the club was seen by those external observers as a gamble.

A first managerial job is a challenge for anyone, let alone when it comes in the Premier 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 Brentford looked at, they were clearly convinced 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 a single of his first 5 league games in charge but big home victories against United, Liverpool and Newcastle have since occurred.

Wins that, following their excellent recent form, could prove all the more important in the pursuit for European qualification.

"We are in good form and playing really good. We are playing with bravery and belief in everything we do with or without the ball," Andrews added. "We're pleased 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 no other option, because things could rapidly look very otherwise.

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