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

With 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 convincing three-nil win over the Black Cats moved their manager's side into the fifth spot in the top flight – a position that was sufficient to secure European football last term.

Only table-toppers the Gunners have accumulated 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 fight for European football.

Few 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 promoted but also cemented them in the top flight.

Club captain Christian Norgaard left for Arsenal and goal-scoring duo two key forwards – who scored a combined of thirty-nine goals in 2024-25 – were also sold, joining Manchester United and Newcastle respectively.

Specialist coach Andrews was promoted to succeed Frank, while there was a notable absence of a centre-forward 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 upper echelons.

So, how did they pull it off?

The Brazilian's Historic Season

The club's decision not to sign another striker was partly down to circumstance, 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 Club Brugge in July 2024 for a then-record fee, but was hindered by fitness issues in his first campaign, going without a goal in eight appearances.

The 24-year-old has gone about compensating for lost time this season, though, with his brace against Sunderland taking him to sixteen league goals – the highest tally by a player from Brazil in a single Premier League campaign.

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

"He has been a revelation," former Liverpool midfielder Danny Murphy said. "He is a physical specimen, quick, strong, but technically better than people think. Excellent with his feet, either foot, he can score with both. You can see he's full of confidence. These numbers are fantastic. 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 shows the standard he is playing at.

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

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

Before the game against their opponents, no player to have attempted at least 30 shots this season has a better shot accuracy rate than the striker's 59.1 percent.

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

Considering the struggles he had in his youth, where he labored in construction 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 handles with ease.

"The recruitment team deserve a lot of credit for the kind of players they bring in and personalities," the manager said. "This is really impressive. He is a really unique person who has fitted into life very nicely. He has had to earn this path. He has worked for his journey and grafted. 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 pretty all-round centre-forward."

Andrews Showing Sceptics Wrong

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

While they had star players – Ivan Toney, Christian Eriksen, Mbeumo and Wissa – under their previous boss, they were always seen as a team stronger than the individual components.

The fear 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 stay up.

Consequently, appointing their set-piece coach, with a blank managerial CV, and just a twelve months at the club was seen by those external observers as a gamble.

A maiden role is a test for anyone, especially when it comes in the world's toughest league and having made the jump from specialist coach to the manager's office.

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

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

Wins that, following their excellent recent run, could prove increasingly important in the race for Europe.

"We're in good form and playing really well. We are playing with courage and belief in everything we do with or without the ball," Andrews added. "We're happy 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 little choice, because things could quickly look very different.

But, for now, The Bees are beating the predictions. And the longer that continues, the closer to reality those aspirations of Europe will become.