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Over the midpoint of the campaign, The Bees find themselves in dreamland.

Following victories in their last five outings, and a Brazilian striker scoring the goals, suddenly Bees fans find themselves drifting off with thoughts of trips to Milan, Munich and Barcelona next season.

A convincing 3-0 win over Sunderland moved their manager's side into fifth in the top flight – a place that was good enough to secure European football last term.

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

There is a significant distance to go yet but Brentford are firmly in the race for continental football.

No one was forecasting this last summer.

Thomas Frank had left for Tottenham 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.

Skipper their Danish midfielder 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 Manchester United and Newcastle respectively.

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

A year of difficulty, possibly even relegation, was forecast. But here we are in the new year with Brentford in the upper echelons.

So, what is behind their success?

The Brazilian's Historic Campaign

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

But they also were aware they had a £30 million striker already waiting to go.

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

Thiago has set about compensating for lost time this season, though, with his brace against the Wearside club taking him to 16 league goals – the highest tally by a player from Brazil in a single English top-flight campaign.

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

"He has been a revelation," former Liverpool midfielder Danny Murphy said. "He's physically intimidating, quick, powerful, but technically better than people think. Good with his feet, both feet, he can score with both. You can see he's brimming with confidence. These numbers are fantastic. 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 quantity but the crucial nature of the goals that have been so important for his team.

His first goal against the opposition was his seventh opener of the season. Considering how often we are told the importance of the first goal in a game, having someone you can depend on to take that early opportunity cannot be underestimated.

Prior to 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 hits the target. Do that consistently and the goals will – and have – come.

Considering the struggles 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 unsurprising that pressure on the pitch is something he handles with ease.

"The recruitment team deserve a lot of credit for the type of players they bring in and characters," the manager said. "This is really notable. He is a really unique person who has fitted into life very nicely. He has had to earn this path. He has worked for his journey and toiled. He has got serious grit about his personality. He is improving his abilities constantly and we are learning more and more about him. He is a largely complete centre-forward."

Andrews Proving Sceptics Wrong

Igor Thiago is the headline act but the team are not and have never been a single-player team.

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

The fear was that once the Dane left, that may not be the case, and that the sum of Brentford's parts alone might not be enough to stay up.

Consequently, appointing their set-piece coach, with a blank managerial CV, and just a twelve months at the club was seen by those external observers as a gamble.

A maiden role is a challenge for anyone, especially when it comes in the world's toughest league and having made the leap from specialist coach to the manager's office.

But given that Ipswich boss one candidate was the only other option that Brentford looked at, they were clearly confident they had the correct candidate.

So far, as often seems to be the case with the key decision makers at the club, it looks as if they were correct.

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

Wins that, following their brilliant recent run, could prove all the more important in the pursuit for European qualification.

"We are 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 pleased with how we are going but we want to keep striving."

In a league where fourth and 15th are currently separated by just eight points, they have no other option, because things could rapidly look very different.

But, for now, Brentford are beating the predictions. And the longer that continues, the closer to reality those dreams of the continent will become.