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

Following four wins in their last five outings, and a Brazilian striker netting the goals, suddenly supporters find themselves drifting off with thoughts of trips to European capitals next season.

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

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

There's a significant distance to go yet but the West London outfit are squarely in the race for European football.

Few was predicting this last summer.

The former head coach had departed for Tottenham after a seven-year stint in charge, a period in which he had not only got the club to the Premier League but also established them in the elite division.

Skipper Christian Norgaard left for Arsenal and attacking duo two key forwards – who scored a combined of thirty-nine goals in 2024-25 – were out the door, joining Manchester United and Newcastle respectively.

Set-piece coach Keith Andrews was elevated to replace Frank, while there was a notable absence of a centre-forward among the off-season arrivals.

A year of struggle, possibly even the drop, was forecast. Yet here we are in the new year with Brentford in the top five.

So, how have they managed it?

Igor Thiago's Historic Campaign

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

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

Igor Thiago joined from Club Brugge in the summer for a then club record fee, but was plagued by injury in his debut campaign, going goalless in eight appearances.

Thiago has gone 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 Premier League campaign.

Considering the fellow Brazilians who have come before him, that is a remarkable feat, especially with seventeen matches left to play.

"He's been a breath of fresh air," pundit an analyst said. "He's a physical specimen, quick, powerful, but technically better than people think. Good with his feet, both feet, he can score off both. You can see he's full of confidence. These numbers are fantastic. He must be so proud. That's a huge compliment to him."

That only a trio of global superstars have scored more in any of Europe's top five leagues to this point underscores the level he is playing at.

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

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

Given the hardships he had in his youth, where he labored in construction to support his family following the death 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 praise for the kind of players they bring in and characters," the manager said. "This is really notable. 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 toiled. He has got real determination about his personality. He is developing his abilities constantly and we are discovering more and more about him. He is a largely all-round centre-forward."

The Manager Showing Doubters Wrong

Their star striker is the man of the moment but Brentford are not and have never been a single-player team.

While they had key individuals – 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 manager 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 Andrews, with a blank managerial CV, and just a twelve months at the club was seen by those external observers 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 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 correct.

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

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

"We're in fine fettle and playing really good. We are playing with courage and conviction in everything we do with or without the ball," he added. "We are pleased 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 no other option, because things could quickly look very otherwise.

But, for now, The Bees are defying the odds. And the longer that continues, the closer to reality those aspirations of the continent will become.