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Over the midpoint of the campaign, The Bees find themselves in a dream scenario.

With four wins in five games, and a Brazilian striker scoring the goals, suddenly supporters are dreaming of thoughts of trips to Milan, Munich and Barcelona next season.

A emphatic three-nil win over Sunderland moved their manager's side into fifth in the Premier League – a place that was good enough to secure European football last season.

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

There is a long way to go yet but the West London outfit are squarely in the fight for European football.

No one was envisioning this last off-season.

The former head coach had departed for Tottenham after a seven-year stint in charge, a period in which he had not only guided the club promoted but also cemented them in the top flight.

Skipper their Danish midfielder left for the North London club and goal-scoring duo Bryan Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa – who scored a total of 39 goals in 2024-25 – were out the door, joining Manchester United and Newcastle respectively.

Specialist coach Andrews was elevated to succeed 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. Yet here we are in January with the club in the upper echelons.

So, how have they managed it?

Igor Thiago's Record-breaking Campaign

The club's decision not to sign another striker was in part down to timing, with Wissa's move not being finalized until deadline day.

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

Igor Thiago joined from Club Brugge in the summer for a then-record fee, but was hindered by fitness issues in his debut campaign, going goalless in his initial outings.

The 24-year-old has gone about making up for lost time this season, though, with his double against Sunderland taking him to sixteen league goals – the highest tally by a Brazilian in a single English top-flight campaign.

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

"He has been a breath of fresh air," former Liverpool midfielder an analyst said. "He's physically intimidating, fast, strong, but more skilled than people think. Excellent with his feet, both feet, he can score off both. You can see he's full of confidence. His statistics are fantastic. 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 level he is playing at.

And it is not just the quantity but the crucial nature of the goals that have been so important for Brentford.

His opener against the Black Cats was his seventh opener of the season. Considering 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 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%.

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

Considering the hardships 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.

"The recruitment team deserve a lot of credit 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 fitted into 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 improving his abilities constantly and we are discovering more and more about him. He is a largely all-round centre-forward."

Andrews Showing Doubters Incorrect

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

While they had star players – a host of talent – 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 manager left, that may not be the case, and that the collective quality of their parts alone might not be enough to avoid relegation.

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 challenge 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 Town manager Kieran McKenna was the only other alternative that the hierarchy looked at, they were clearly convinced they had the right man.

To date, as often seems to be the case with the key decision makers at Brentford, it looks as if they were vindicated.

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

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

"We are in fine fettle and playing really well. We are playing with bravery 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 fourth and 15th are currently separated by just a handful of points, they have no other option, because things could quickly look very different.

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