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

With four wins in their last five outings, and a Samba striker banging in the goals, suddenly Bees fans are envisioning thoughts of trips to Milan, Munich and Barcelona next season.

A comprehensive three-nil win over Sunderland moved their manager's side into the fifth spot in the top flight – a position that was sufficient to secure European football last season.

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

There is a long way to go yet but the West London outfit are squarely in the fight for continental football.

Few was forecasting this last off-season.

Thomas Frank had departed for Spurs after seven years in charge, a period in which he had not only guided the club promoted but also established them in the top flight.

Club captain their Danish midfielder left for the North London club and attacking duo Bryan Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa – who scored a combined of thirty-nine goals in 2024-25 – were out the door, joining Manchester United and Newcastle United respectively.

Set-piece coach Andrews was promoted to replace Frank, while there was no striker among the summer signings.

A year of struggle, possibly even the drop, was widely predicted. But here we are in January with Brentford in the top five.

So, how did they pull it off?

Igor Thiago's Record-breaking Season

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

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

Igor Thiago joined from Belgium in July 2024 for a then-record fee, but was plagued by injury in his first campaign, going without a goal in his initial outings.

The 24-year-old has set about compensating for lost time this season, though, with his double against Sunderland taking him to sixteen league goals – the most by a player from Brazil in a single English top-flight campaign.

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

"He has been a breath of fresh air," former Liverpool midfielder an analyst said. "He's a physical specimen, quick, powerful, but more skilled than people think. Good 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 pleased. That's a huge compliment to him."

That only Erling Haaland, Harry Kane and Kylian Mbappe have scored more in any of the continent's major leagues to this point shows the level he is playing at.

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

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

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

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

Considering the hardships he had earlier in life, where he labored in construction to provide for his family following the passing of his father, perhaps it should be no surprise that high-stakes situations on the pitch is something he takes in his stride.

"Our scouts deserve a lot of credit for the kind of players they bring in and characters," Andrews said. "This is really impressive. He is a really unique person who has adapted to life very nicely. He has had to earn this path. He has earned his journey and grafted. He has got serious grit about his personality. He is developing his skill set constantly and we are discovering more and more about him. He is a largely all-round centre-forward."

Andrews Proving Doubters Wrong

Their star striker 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 their previous boss, they were always seen as a team stronger than the individual components.

The concern was that once the manager left, that may not be the case, and that the collective quality of their parts alone might not be enough to stay up.

As a result, appointing Andrews, with a blank managerial CV, and just a year at the club was seen by those outside the club as a gamble.

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

But given that Ipswich boss Kieran McKenna was the only other option that the hierarchy 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 the club, it looks as if they were vindicated.

Andrews won just one of his first five league games in charge but big home victories against United, Liverpool and Newcastle have since occurred.

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

"We're in good form and playing really well. We are playing with bravery 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 the European spots and the lower mid-table are currently separated by just a handful of points, they have no other option, because things could rapidly look very otherwise.

But, for now, Brentford are beating the odds. And the longer that lasts, the closer to fruition those dreams of Europe will become.