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More than halfway through the season, Brentford are in fantasy land.

With victories in their last five outings, and a Samba striker scoring the goals, suddenly Bees fans are dreaming of thoughts of trips to European capitals next season.

A convincing 3-0 win over the Black Cats moved Keith Andrews' side into fifth in the top flight – a place that was good enough to secure European football last season.

Solely leaders Arsenal have accumulated more points over the past six games.

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

No one was predicting this last summer.

The former head coach had departed for Spurs after seven years 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 Bryan Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa – who scored a total of thirty-nine goals in 2024-25 – were out the door, joining Manchester United and Newcastle United respectively.

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

A season of difficulty, 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 Record-breaking Season

The club's decision not to bring in another striker was in part down to timing, with Wissa's move not being finalized until deadline day.

But they also knew they had a £30m striker already waiting to go.

Igor Thiago joined from Belgium in July 2024 for a then club record fee, but was hindered by injury in his debut campaign, going without a goal in eight appearances.

Thiago has gone about making up for lost time this season, though, with his brace against the Wearside club taking him to sixteen league goals – the highest tally by a Brazilian in a single English top-flight campaign.

Given the countrymen who have come before him, that is a remarkable feat, especially with seventeen matches remaining.

"He has been a revelation," former Liverpool midfielder an analyst said. "He is a physical specimen, fast, strong, 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. These numbers 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 Europe's top five leagues to this point shows the standard he is operating at.

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

His opener against the Black Cats was his 7th opener of the season. Given how often we are told the significance of the initial strike in a game, having someone you can rely on to take that early opportunity cannot be overstated.

Before the game against Sunderland, no player to have attempted at least thirty efforts this season has a better shot accuracy rate than the striker's 59.1 percent.

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

Given the struggles he had earlier in life, where he worked as a bricklayer 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 praise for the type of players they bring in and characters," Andrews said. "This 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 improving his abilities constantly and we are discovering more and more about him. He is a pretty complete centre-forward."

Andrews Proving Doubters Wrong

Their star striker is the headline act but Brentford are not and have never been a single-player team.

While they had star players – Ivan Toney, Christian Eriksen, Mbeumo and Wissa – under Frank, they were always seen as a team more effective than the individual components.

The fear 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 avoid relegation.

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 huge risk.

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 manager's office.

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

The new boss won just a single of his first five league games in charge but big home victories against United, Liverpool and the Magpies have followed.

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

"We're 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 are 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 no other option, because things could quickly look very different.

But, for now, The Bees are defying the odds. And the longer that lasts, the closer to fruition those aspirations of Europe will become.