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Over the midpoint of the campaign, The Bees are in dreamland.

Following four wins in their last five outings, and a Brazilian striker banging in the goals, suddenly supporters are dreaming of thoughts of trips to Milan, Munich and Barcelona next season.

A convincing 3-0 win over Sunderland moved their manager's side into the fifth spot in the top flight – a place that was sufficient to secure European football last term.

Solely leaders Arsenal have accumulated more points over the past half-dozen matches.

There's a significant distance to go yet but Brentford are squarely in the race for European football.

No one was predicting this last off-season.

The former head coach had left 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 established them in the elite division.

Skipper their Danish midfielder left for Arsenal and goal-scoring duo Bryan Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa – who scored a total of 39 goals in the previous campaign – were out the door, joining Manchester United and Newcastle United respectively.

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

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

So, how did they pull it off?

Igor Thiago's Historic Season

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

But they also knew they had a £30m striker already waiting to go.

The 24-year-old joined from Club Brugge in July 2024 for a then-record fee, but was hindered by injury in his first campaign, going goalless in his initial outings.

Thiago has set about making up for lost time this season, though, with his double against the Wearside club taking him to 16 league goals – the highest tally by a player from Brazil in a single English top-flight campaign.

Given the countrymen who have come before him, that is a remarkable feat, especially with 17 games left to play.

"He's been a revelation," former Liverpool midfielder an analyst said. "He's physically intimidating, fast, powerful, but technically better than people think. Good with his feet, either foot, he can score with both. You can see he's brimming with confidence. These numbers are fantastic. He must be so proud. 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 shows the level 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 opposition was his seventh first goal of a game of the season. Considering how often we are told the importance of the first goal in a game, having someone you can depend on to take that early opportunity cannot be underestimated.

Before 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 percent.

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

Considering the struggles he had in his youth, where he labored in construction to provide for his family following the passing of his father, perhaps it should be unsurprising that pressure on the pitch is something he takes in his stride.

"Our scouts 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 adapted to life very well. He has had to earn this path. He has earned his journey and toiled. He has got serious grit about his personality. He is developing his skill set constantly and we are learning more and more about him. He is a largely all-round centre-forward."

Andrews Showing Doubters Incorrect

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

While they had star players – a host of talent – 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 sum of their parts alone might not be enough to avoid relegation.

As a result, appointing Andrews, with no previous managerial experience, 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, let alone when it comes in the world's toughest league and having made the leap from specialist coach to the top job.

But given that Ipswich boss Kieran McKenna was the only other alternative that the hierarchy looked at, they were clearly confident they had the correct candidate.

To date, 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 5 league games in charge but significant home victories against United, the Reds and the Magpies have since occurred.

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

"We're in fine fettle and playing really good. We are playing with bravery and belief in everything we do with and without the ball," he added. "We are pleased with how we are going but we want to keep improving."

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 defying the odds. And the longer that lasts, the closer to reality those dreams of Europe will become.