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Over halfway through the campaign, The Bees find themselves in fantasy land.

With four wins in five games, and a Samba 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 Keith Andrews' side into the fifth spot in the top flight – a place that was sufficient to secure European football last season.

Only table-toppers the Gunners have gathered more points over the past half-dozen matches.

There is a long way to go yet but Brentford are firmly in the fight for European football.

No one was forecasting 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 goal-scoring duo Bryan Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa – who scored a total of thirty-nine goals in 2024-25 – were also sold, joining United and Newcastle respectively.

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

A season of struggle, possibly even relegation, was widely predicted. Yet here we are in the new year with Brentford in the upper echelons.

So, what is behind their success?

Igor Thiago's Record-breaking Season

The club's decision not to sign another striker was in part down to timing, with one forward's move not going through until deadline day.

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

Igor Thiago joined from Belgium in the summer for a then club record fee, but was hindered by injury in his first campaign, going without a goal in his initial outings.

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 sixteen league goals – the most by a Brazilian in a single English top-flight campaign.

Given the fellow Brazilians who have come before him, that is some accomplishment, especially with seventeen matches remaining.

"He has been a revelation," former Liverpool midfielder Danny Murphy said. "He is a physical specimen, 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. These numbers are incredible. He must be so pleased. 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 highlights the level he is operating at.

And it is not just the quantity but the timing of the goals that have been so important for his team.

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 rely on to take that early opportunity cannot be underestimated.

Prior to the game against Sunderland, no player to have attempted at least 30 shots this season has a better shot accuracy rate than the striker's 59.1%.

He hits the target. Achieve that consistently 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 unsurprising that pressure on the pitch is something he takes in his stride.

"The recruitment team deserve a lot of praise for the kind of players they bring in and characters," Andrews said. "It is really impressive. He is a really unique person who has adapted to life very nicely. He has had to forge this path. He has earned his journey and grafted. He has got real determination about his personality. He is developing his abilities constantly and we are learning more and more about him. He is a pretty complete centre-forward."

The Manager Proving Sceptics Incorrect

Their star striker is the headline act but Brentford are not and have never been a one-man band.

While they had star players – a host of talent – under Frank, they were always seen as a team more effective than the sum of their parts.

The fear was that once the Dane 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 gamble.

A first managerial job is a challenge for anyone, especially when it comes in the Premier League and having made the jump from set-piece coach to the top job.

But given that Ipswich boss Kieran McKenna 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 brains trust at Brentford, it looks as if they were vindicated.

Andrews won just a single of his first 5 league games in charge but big home victories against United, the Reds and Newcastle have since occurred.

Results that, following their brilliant recent run, could prove all the more important in the pursuit for Europe.

"We are in fine fettle and playing really good. We are playing with courage and belief in everything we do with and without the ball," he added. "We're 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 predictions. And the longer that lasts, the closer to reality those dreams of the continent will become.