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Over halfway through the season, Brentford are in fantasy land.

Following four wins in five games, and a Brazilian striker scoring the goals, suddenly supporters are envisioning thoughts of trips to European capitals next season.

A comprehensive three-nil win over Sunderland moved Keith Andrews' side into the fifth spot in the top flight – a position that was good enough to secure Champions League football last season.

Solely table-toppers the Gunners have accumulated more points over the past half-dozen matches.

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

Few was forecasting this last off-season.

The former head coach had departed for Spurs after seven years in charge, a period in which he had not only guided the club to the Premier League but also established them in the top flight.

Club captain their Danish midfielder 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 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 off-season arrivals.

A season of struggle, possibly even the drop, was forecast. But here we are in the new year with Brentford in the top five.

So, how did they pull it off?

Igor Thiago's Record-breaking Campaign

The club's decision not to sign another striker was in part down to circumstance, with Wissa's move not going through until the final day of the window.

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

The 24-year-old joined from Belgium in July 2024 for a then club record fee, but was plagued by fitness issues in his first campaign, going without a goal in eight appearances.

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

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

"He's been a revelation," former Liverpool midfielder an analyst said. "He is physically intimidating, fast, strong, but technically better than people think. Excellent with his feet, either foot, he can score off both. You can see he's brimming with confidence. These numbers are incredible. He must be so proud. That's a big compliment to him."

That only a trio of global superstars have scored more in any of the continent's major leagues to this point highlights the level he is operating at.

And it is not just the quantity but the timing of the goals that have been so pivotal for Brentford.

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

Before the game against their opponents, no player to have attempted at least thirty efforts this season has a better shooting accuracy than the striker's 59.1%.

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

Considering the hardships 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 no surprise that pressure 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 characters," the manager said. "It is really impressive. He is a really special person who has adapted to life very well. He has had to forge this path. He has earned his journey and grafted. He has got serious grit about his personality. He is developing his abilities constantly and we are discovering more and more about him. He is a largely all-round centre-forward."

Andrews Showing Sceptics Wrong

Their star striker is the headline act but Brentford are not and have never been a single-player team.

While they had star players – a host of talent – under their previous boss, they were always seen as a team more effective than the individual components.

The concern 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 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 huge risk.

A first managerial job is a test for anyone, let alone when it comes in the Premier League and having made the jump from specialist coach to the top job.

But given that Ipswich Town manager one candidate was the only other option that Brentford looked at, they were clearly confident 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 correct.

The new boss won just one of his first five league games in charge but big home victories against United, the Reds and Newcastle have since occurred.

Results that, following their excellent recent form, could prove all the more important in the race for Europe.

"We are in fine fettle and playing really well. We are playing with courage and conviction in everything we do with and without the ball," he added. "We are happy 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 quickly look very different.

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