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Over halfway through the campaign, Brentford find themselves in dreamland.

With four wins in their last five outings, and a Samba striker scoring the goals, suddenly supporters are envisioning thoughts of trips to European capitals next season.

A convincing three-nil win over Sunderland moved their manager's side into the fifth spot in the top flight – a position that was good enough to secure Champions League football last term.

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

There is a long way to go yet but Brentford are firmly in the fight for European football.

No one was forecasting this last off-season.

Thomas Frank had departed for Spurs after a seven-year stint in charge, a period in which he had not only got the club promoted but also cemented them in the top flight.

Club captain their Danish midfielder left for Arsenal and goal-scoring duo two key forwards – who scored a total of 39 goals in the previous campaign – were also sold, joining Manchester United and Newcastle United respectively.

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

A season of struggle, possibly even relegation, was widely predicted. But here we are in January with the club in the top five.

So, what is behind their success?

The Brazilian's Historic Campaign

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

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

Igor Thiago joined from Belgium in July 2024 for a then-record fee, but was plagued by fitness issues in his first campaign, going without a goal in his initial outings.

The 24-year-old has set about compensating for lost time this season, though, with his double against the Wearside club taking him to sixteen league goals – the most by a Brazilian in a single English top-flight campaign.

Considering the countrymen who have come before him, that is some accomplishment, especially with 17 games remaining.

"He's been a revelation," former Liverpool midfielder Danny Murphy said. "He's physically intimidating, fast, strong, but technically better than people think. Excellent 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 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 volume but the crucial nature of the goals that have been so pivotal for his team.

His opener against the opposition was his 7th opener of the season. Given how often we are told the significance of the first goal in a game, having someone you can rely on to take that early opportunity cannot be overstated.

Prior to the game against their opponents, 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 finds the target. Do that often enough 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 no surprise that pressure on the pitch is something he takes in his stride.

"The recruitment team deserve a lot of credit for the kind of players they bring in and personalities," the manager said. "This is really impressive. He is a really unique person who has adapted to life very well. He has had to forge 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 complete centre-forward."

Andrews Showing Doubters 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 sum of their parts.

The concern was that once the Dane 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 their set-piece coach, with no previous managerial experience, and just a year at the club was seen by those external observers as a huge risk.

A maiden role is a challenge for anyone, especially when it comes in the world's toughest league and having made the leap from set-piece coach to the top job.

But given that Ipswich Town manager Kieran McKenna was the only other option that the hierarchy looked at, they were clearly convinced they had the right man.

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, the Reds and Newcastle have since occurred.

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

"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," he added. "We are happy with how we are going but we want to keep improving."

In a league where fourth and 15th are currently separated by just a handful of points, they have little choice, because things could quickly look very otherwise.

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