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More than the midpoint of the season, Brentford find themselves in dreamland.

Following four wins in five games, and a Brazilian striker netting the goals, suddenly Bees fans find themselves drifting off with thoughts of trips to European capitals next season.

A convincing three-nil win over Sunderland moved Keith Andrews' side into the fifth spot in the Premier League – a place that was sufficient to secure Champions League football last season.

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

There is a significant distance to go yet but the West London outfit are squarely in the race for continental football.

Few was envisioning this last off-season.

Thomas Frank had departed for Tottenham after seven years in charge, a period in which he had not only got the club promoted but also cemented them in the top flight.

Club captain Christian Norgaard left for Arsenal and attacking duo Bryan Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa – who scored a total of 39 goals in the previous campaign – were out the door, joining United and Newcastle United respectively.

Set-piece coach Andrews was promoted to succeed the Dane, while there was no striker among the summer signings.

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

So, how have they managed it?

Igor Thiago's Record-breaking Campaign

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

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

The 24-year-old joined from Club Brugge in July 2024 for a then-record fee, but was plagued by injury in his debut 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 sixteen league goals – the most by a Brazilian in a single English top-flight campaign.

Considering the countrymen who have come before him, that is some accomplishment, especially with seventeen matches remaining.

"He has been a revelation," pundit Danny Murphy said. "He's physically intimidating, fast, powerful, but technically better than people think. Excellent with his feet, either foot, he can score with both. You can see he's brimming with confidence. These numbers are incredible. 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 underscores the standard he is playing at.

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

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

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%.

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

Given 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 unsurprising that high-stakes situations on the pitch is something he takes in his stride.

"The recruitment team deserve a lot of credit for the kind of players they bring in and personalities," Andrews said. "This is really notable. He is a really unique person who has fitted into 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 pretty all-round centre-forward."

Andrews Showing Doubters Wrong

Igor Thiago is the headline act but the team are not and have never been a single-player team.

While they had star players – a host of talent – under Frank, they were always seen as a team stronger than the sum of their parts.

The concern 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 stay up.

As a result, appointing their set-piece coach, with a blank managerial CV, and just a twelve months at the club was seen by those outside the club as a huge risk.

A maiden role is a challenge for anyone, especially when it comes in the world's toughest 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 alternative that Brentford looked at, they were clearly convinced they had the right man.

So far, as often seems to be the case with the brains trust at Brentford, it looks as if they were spot on.

Andrews won just one of his first five league games in charge but big home victories against United, Liverpool and Newcastle have followed.

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

"We are in fine fettle and playing really well. We are playing with courage and conviction in everything we do with or without the ball," Andrews 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 a handful of points, they have no other option, because things could quickly look very otherwise.

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