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Over halfway through the campaign, Brentford find themselves in a dream scenario.

With four wins in their last five outings, and a Samba striker scoring 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 the fifth spot in the Premier League – a position that was good enough to secure European football last season.

Solely leaders the Gunners have collected more points over the past half-dozen matches.

There's a long way to go yet but Brentford are squarely in the fight for European football.

Few was predicting 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 got the club to the Premier League but also cemented them in the elite division.

Club captain Christian Norgaard left for the North London club and attacking duo Bryan Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa – who scored a combined of thirty-nine goals in the previous campaign – were also sold, joining Manchester United and Newcastle respectively.

Set-piece coach Andrews was promoted to succeed the Dane, while there was no striker among the off-season arrivals.

A year of difficulty, possibly even the drop, was forecast. But here we are in January with the club in the top five.

So, how did they pull it off?

Igor Thiago's Historic Season

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

But they also were aware they had a £30m striker already ready and waiting.

Igor Thiago joined from Belgium in July 2024 for a then-record fee, but was hindered by injury in his first campaign, going goalless in eight appearances.

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

Given the fellow Brazilians who have preceded him, that is a remarkable feat, especially with seventeen matches remaining.

"He has been a breath of fresh air," pundit Danny Murphy said. "He's physically intimidating, fast, strong, but more skilled than people think. Excellent with his feet, both feet, he can score off both. You can see he's brimming with confidence. His statistics 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 level he is playing at.

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

His first goal 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 underestimated.

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 percent.

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

Given the struggles he had earlier in life, where he worked as a bricklayer to provide for his family following the passing of his father, perhaps it should be no surprise that pressure 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. "It is really notable. He is a really unique person who has adapted to 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 discovering more and more about him. He is a pretty complete centre-forward."

The Manager Showing Sceptics 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 more effective than the individual components.

The concern was that once the Dane left, that may not be the case, and that the sum of Brentford's parts alone might not be enough to avoid relegation.

Consequently, appointing their set-piece coach, with no previous managerial experience, and just a twelve months at the club was seen by those external observers as a gamble.

A first managerial job is a test for anyone, let alone when it comes in the world's toughest 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 the hierarchy 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 the club, it looks as if they were vindicated.

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

Wins that, following their brilliant recent form, could prove increasingly important in the pursuit for European qualification.

"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," he added. "We are happy with how we are going but we want to keep pushing."

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, Brentford are defying the odds. And the longer that lasts, the closer to fruition those aspirations of the continent will become.