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

With victories in five games, and a Samba striker netting the goals, suddenly Bees fans find themselves drifting off with thoughts of trips to Milan, Munich and Barcelona next season.

A convincing three-nil win over Sunderland moved their manager's side into fifth in the Premier League – a position that was sufficient to secure European football last term.

Solely table-toppers Arsenal have collected more points over the past six games.

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

No one was forecasting this last off-season.

The former head coach had left for Spurs after seven years in charge, a period in which he had not only got the club promoted but also established them in the elite division.

Club captain their Danish midfielder left for the North London club and goal-scoring duo Bryan Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa – who scored a total of 39 goals in 2024-25 – were also sold, joining United and Newcastle respectively.

Specialist coach Keith 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. Yet here we are in the new year with Brentford in the upper echelons.

So, what is behind their success?

The Brazilian's Record-breaking Campaign

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

But they also were aware they had a £30 million striker already chomping at the bit.

Igor Thiago joined from Club Brugge in the summer for a then-record fee, but was plagued by injury in his first campaign, going goalless in his initial outings.

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

Considering the countrymen who have come before him, that is a remarkable feat, especially with 17 games remaining.

"He has been a revelation," pundit Danny Murphy said. "He is physically intimidating, fast, strong, but more skilled than people think. Good with his feet, either foot, he can score off both. You can see he's brimming with confidence. These numbers are incredible. He must be so proud. That's a big 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 highlights the standard he is operating at.

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

His opener against the opposition was his 7th opener of the season. Given how often we are told the importance of the initial strike in a game, having someone you can depend 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 percent.

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

Given the struggles he had in his youth, where he worked as a bricklayer to provide for his family following the passing of his father, perhaps it should be no surprise that pressure on the pitch is something he handles with ease.

"Our scouts deserve a lot of credit for the kind of players they bring in and characters," the manager said. "This is really impressive. He is a really unique person who has adapted to life very well. 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 pretty all-round centre-forward."

Andrews Proving Doubters Incorrect

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

While they had star players – Ivan Toney, Christian Eriksen, Mbeumo and Wissa – under Frank, they were always seen as a team stronger than the sum of their parts.

The concern was that once the Dane 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 external observers as a huge risk.

A maiden role is a test 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 Town manager one candidate 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 a single of his first five league games in charge but big home victories against Manchester United, the Reds and Newcastle have followed.

Results that, following their excellent recent run, could prove increasingly important in the race for European qualification.

"We're in fine fettle and playing really good. We are playing with bravery and belief in everything we do with or without the ball," Andrews added. "We're pleased 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 different.

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