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More than halfway through the season, The Bees find themselves in a dream scenario.

With victories in their last five outings, and a Brazilian striker scoring the goals, suddenly supporters find themselves drifting off with 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.

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

There's a long way to go yet but the West London outfit are squarely in the race for European football.

No one was envisioning this last summer.

The former head coach had left for Tottenham after a seven-year stint in charge, a period in which he had not only got the club promoted but also cemented them in the top flight.

Skipper Christian Norgaard left for the North London club and attacking duo Bryan Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa – who scored a total of thirty-nine goals in 2024-25 – were also sold, joining Manchester United and Newcastle respectively.

Specialist coach Keith Andrews was elevated to replace Frank, while there was a notable absence of a centre-forward among the summer signings.

A year of struggle, possibly even relegation, was forecast. Yet here we are in the new year with the club in the top five.

So, how have they managed it?

Igor Thiago's Historic Season

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

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

The 24-year-old joined from Belgium in the summer for a then club record fee, but was hindered by fitness issues in his first campaign, going goalless in his initial outings.

The 24-year-old has gone about compensating 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 17 games 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, both feet, he can score off both. You can see he's full of confidence. His statistics 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 Europe's top five leagues to this point shows the standard he is operating at.

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

His opener against the opposition was his seventh opener of the season. Given how often we are told the importance of the first goal in a game, having someone you can rely 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 shooting accuracy than the striker's 59.1%.

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

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

"The recruitment team deserve a lot of credit for the type 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 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 Proving Doubters Wrong

Igor Thiago 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 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 their parts alone might not be enough to stay up.

Consequently, appointing their set-piece coach, with no previous managerial experience, and just a year at the club was seen by those outside the club as a huge risk.

A maiden role is a test for anyone, let alone when it comes in the Premier League and having made the leap 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.

To date, as often seems to be the case with the key decision makers at Brentford, it looks as if they were vindicated.

Andrews won just one of his first 5 league games in charge but significant home victories against United, Liverpool and Newcastle have followed.

Results that, following their excellent recent form, could prove increasingly important in the pursuit for Europe.

"We're in good form and playing really good. We are playing with bravery and conviction in everything we do with and without the ball," Andrews added. "We are happy with how we are going but we want to keep improving."

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 beating the predictions. And the longer that lasts, the closer to reality those dreams of the continent will become.