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More than halfway through the campaign, Brentford find themselves in a dream scenario.

With victories in their last five outings, and a Brazilian striker banging in the goals, suddenly Bees fans find themselves drifting off with thoughts of trips to European capitals next season.

A emphatic 3-0 win over Sunderland moved Keith Andrews' side into fifth in the top flight – a place that was sufficient to secure European football last term.

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

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

No one was forecasting this last off-season.

Thomas Frank had left for Spurs after seven years in charge, a period in which he had not only guided the club promoted but also established them in the top flight.

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

Set-piece coach Keith Andrews was promoted to replace Frank, while there was no striker among the off-season arrivals.

A year of difficulty, possibly even relegation, was widely predicted. Yet here we are in January with the club in the upper echelons.

So, how did they pull it off?

Igor Thiago's Historic Campaign

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

But they also knew they had a £30 million striker already chomping at the bit.

Igor Thiago joined from Belgium in July 2024 for a then-record fee, but was hindered by injury in his debut campaign, going without a goal in eight appearances.

The 24-year-old has gone about compensating for lost time this season, though, with his double against Sunderland taking him to 16 league goals – the most by a player from Brazil in a single English top-flight campaign.

Given the countrymen who have preceded him, that is some accomplishment, especially with seventeen matches left to play.

"He's been a breath of fresh air," pundit Danny Murphy said. "He's physically intimidating, fast, powerful, 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. 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 the continent's major leagues to this point underscores 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 his team.

His first goal against the opposition was his 7th opener of the season. Considering how often we are told the importance of the initial strike in a game, having someone you can rely on to take that first big chance 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 percent.

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

Given the struggles he had earlier in life, where he worked as a bricklayer to provide for his family following the death of his father, perhaps it should be unsurprising that high-stakes situations 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 personalities," Andrews said. "It is really notable. He is a really unique person who has adapted to life very nicely. He has had to forge this path. He has worked for his journey and toiled. He has got serious grit about his personality. He is developing his skill set constantly and we are discovering more and more about him. He is a largely all-round centre-forward."

The Manager Showing Doubters Wrong

Igor Thiago is the man of the moment but Brentford are not and have never been a one-man band.

While they had star players – Ivan Toney, Christian Eriksen, Mbeumo and Wissa – under Frank, they were always seen as a team more effective than the sum of their parts.

The concern was that once the manager left, that may not be the case, and that the sum of their 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 huge risk.

A maiden role is a test for anyone, let alone 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 one candidate was the only other alternative that Brentford looked at, they were clearly confident they had the correct candidate.

To date, as often seems to be the case with the brains trust at Brentford, it looks as if they were spot on.

The new boss won just a single of his first 5 league games in charge but big home victories against United, the Reds and Newcastle have followed.

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

"We are in fine fettle and playing really well. We are playing with courage and belief in everything we do with and without the ball," he added. "We're happy 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 little choice, because things could quickly look very otherwise.

But, for now, The Bees are beating the odds. And the longer that lasts, the closer to fruition those aspirations of Europe will become.