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More than halfway through the campaign, The Bees find themselves in dreamland.

Following victories in five games, and a Brazilian striker netting the goals, suddenly supporters find themselves drifting off with thoughts of trips to Milan, Munich and Barcelona next season.

A emphatic 3-0 win over the Black Cats moved their manager's side into the fifth spot in the Premier League – a position that was good enough to secure Champions League football last term.

Only leaders the Gunners have accumulated more points over the past six games.

There's a long way to go yet but Brentford are squarely in the race for continental football.

Few was predicting this last summer.

The former head coach had left for Spurs after seven years in charge, a period in which he had not only guided 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 39 goals in 2024-25 – were out the door, joining Manchester United and Newcastle United respectively.

Set-piece coach Andrews was promoted to succeed the Dane, while there was a notable absence of a centre-forward among the summer signings.

A season of difficulty, possibly even relegation, was widely predicted. Yet here we are in the new year with the club in the top five.

So, how did they pull it off?

Igor Thiago's Record-breaking Campaign

Brentford's decision not to bring in another striker was in part down to circumstance, with Wissa's move not going through until the final day of the window.

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

Igor Thiago joined from Belgium in the summer for a then-record fee, but was plagued by fitness issues in his debut campaign, going without a goal in his initial outings.

Thiago has gone about compensating for lost time this season, though, with his brace against the Wearside club taking him to sixteen league goals – the highest tally by a player from Brazil in a single Premier League campaign.

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

"He has been a breath of fresh air," pundit an analyst said. "He's a physical specimen, quick, powerful, but more skilled than people think. Good with his feet, either foot, he can score with both. You can see he's full of confidence. His statistics 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 shows the level he is operating at.

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

His first goal against the opposition 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 their opponents, no player to have attempted at least thirty efforts this season has a better shot accuracy rate than the striker's 59.1%.

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

Given the struggles he had earlier in life, where he labored in construction to provide for his family following the death of his father, perhaps it should be no surprise that pressure on the pitch is something he handles with ease.

"The recruitment team deserve a lot of credit for the kind of players they bring in and personalities," Andrews said. "This is really impressive. 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 grafted. He has got serious grit about his personality. He is improving his skill set constantly and we are discovering more and more about him. He is a pretty all-round centre-forward."

The Manager Showing Sceptics Incorrect

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

While they had key individuals – 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 sum of Brentford's parts alone might not be enough to avoid relegation.

As a result, appointing Andrews, with no previous managerial experience, and just a year at the club was seen by those outside the club as a gamble.

A first managerial job is a challenge for anyone, let alone 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 Brentford looked at, they were clearly convinced 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 spot on.

Andrews won just a single of his first 5 league games in charge but significant home victories against United, Liverpool and the Magpies have followed.

Results that, following their brilliant recent form, could prove all the more important in the pursuit for Europe.

"We are in good form and playing really well. We are playing with courage and belief in everything we do with or without the ball," Andrews added. "We are happy 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, The Bees are defying the predictions. And the longer that continues, the closer to fruition those aspirations of the continent will become.