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More than the midpoint of the campaign, The Bees are in fantasy land.

Following four wins 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 Sunderland moved their manager's side into fifth in the top flight – a position that was sufficient to secure European football last season.

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

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

Few was predicting this last summer.

Thomas Frank had departed for Spurs after a seven-year stint in charge, a period in which he had not only guided the club promoted but also established them in the elite division.

Skipper Christian Norgaard left for Arsenal and goal-scoring duo Bryan Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa – who scored a combined of thirty-nine goals in the previous campaign – were also sold, joining Manchester United and Newcastle United respectively.

Set-piece coach Keith Andrews was promoted 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 widely predicted. But here we are in the new year with the club in the top five.

So, how did they pull it off?

Igor Thiago's Historic Season

Brentford's decision not to sign another striker was partly down to circumstance, with Wissa's move not being finalized until the final day of the window.

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

The 24-year-old joined from Belgium in July 2024 for a then club record fee, but was hindered by fitness issues in his debut campaign, going goalless in his initial outings.

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

Considering 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 physically intimidating, quick, powerful, but more skilled than people think. Excellent with his feet, either foot, he can score off both. You can see he's brimming with confidence. His statistics are incredible. He must be so proud. That's a big compliment to him."

That only a trio of global superstars 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 pivotal for Brentford.

His opener against the opposition was his seventh opener of the season. Considering how often we are told the significance of the initial strike in a game, having someone you can depend on to take that first big chance cannot be underestimated.

Prior to 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%.

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 support his family following the death of his father, perhaps it should be unsurprising that pressure on the pitch is something he takes in his stride.

"Our scouts deserve a lot of praise for the type of players they bring in and characters," the manager said. "This is really impressive. He is a really special 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 all-round centre-forward."

The Manager Proving Doubters 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 their previous boss, 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 collective quality of Brentford's parts alone might not be enough to stay up.

Consequently, 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 maiden role is a test for anyone, especially 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 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 key decision makers 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, Liverpool and Newcastle have followed.

Wins that, following their brilliant recent run, could prove increasingly important in the pursuit for Europe.

"We are in fine fettle and playing really well. We are playing with bravery 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 improving."

In a league where the European spots and the lower mid-table are currently separated by just a handful of points, they have little choice, because things could rapidly look very otherwise.

But, for now, Brentford are defying the predictions. And the longer that continues, the closer to fruition those aspirations of the continent will become.