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

Following four wins in five games, and a Brazilian striker netting the goals, suddenly Bees fans are dreaming of thoughts of trips to European capitals next season.

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

Solely leaders Arsenal have accumulated more points over the past half-dozen matches.

There's a long way to go yet but the West London outfit are squarely in the battle for continental football.

No one was forecasting this last off-season.

Thomas Frank had left for Tottenham after a seven-year stint in charge, a period in which he had not only guided the club to the Premier League but also established them in the top flight.

Club captain 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 United and Newcastle United respectively.

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

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

So, how did they pull it off?

The Brazilian's Historic Season

The club'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 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 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 brace against Sunderland taking him to 16 league goals – the most by a player from Brazil in a single Premier League campaign.

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

"He has been a revelation," pundit Danny Murphy said. "He's physically intimidating, fast, strong, but technically better than people think. Good with his feet, both feet, he can score off 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 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 first goal against the Black Cats 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 first big chance 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 Igor Thiago's 59.1 percent.

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

Given the struggles he had in his youth, where he labored in construction to support his family following the passing 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 praise for the kind of players they bring in and personalities," Andrews said. "This is really impressive. He is a really special person who has fitted into life very nicely. He has had to forge this path. He has worked for his journey and toiled. He has got real determination about his personality. He is developing his abilities constantly and we are learning more and more about him. He is a pretty all-round centre-forward."

Andrews Showing Sceptics Wrong

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 concern 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 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, let alone when it comes in the Premier League and having made the leap from specialist coach to the top job.

But given that Ipswich boss Kieran McKenna was the only other alternative that the hierarchy 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 the club, it looks as if they were spot on.

Andrews won just a single of his first five league games in charge but big home victories against United, Liverpool and the Magpies have since occurred.

Results that, following their excellent recent run, could prove all the more important in the pursuit for European qualification.

"We are in good form and playing really good. We are playing with bravery and belief in everything we do with and without the ball," he added. "We're pleased with how we are going but we want to keep improving."

In a league where fourth and 15th are currently separated by just eight 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 the continent will become.