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Over the midpoint of the season, Brentford are in a dream scenario.

Following four wins in their last five outings, 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 comprehensive 3-0 win over the Black Cats moved their manager's side into fifth in the top flight – a place that was good enough to secure European football last term.

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

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

Few was envisioning 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 promoted but also established them in the top flight.

Skipper their Danish midfielder left for the North London club and attacking duo two key forwards – who scored a total of thirty-nine goals in the previous campaign – were out the door, joining United and Newcastle United respectively.

Specialist coach Keith Andrews was promoted to succeed the Dane, while there was no striker among the summer signings.

A season of difficulty, possibly even the drop, was forecast. But here we are in January with Brentford in the top five.

So, how have they managed it?

Igor Thiago's Record-breaking Campaign

The club's decision not to bring in another striker was in part down to circumstance, with Wissa's move not going through until the final day of the window.

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

Igor Thiago joined from Club Brugge in July 2024 for a then-record fee, but was plagued by injury in his debut campaign, going without a goal in his initial outings.

Thiago has gone about making up for lost time this season, though, with his double against the Wearside club taking him to 16 league goals – the most by a Brazilian in a single English top-flight campaign.

Considering the countrymen who have preceded him, that is some accomplishment, especially with 17 games 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, both feet, he can score off both. You can see he's full of confidence. These numbers 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 quantity but the timing of the goals that have been so important for Brentford.

His first goal against the Black Cats was his 7th first goal of a game of the season. Given how often we are told the importance of the first goal in a game, having someone you can depend on to take that early opportunity 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 Igor Thiago's 59.1%.

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 passing of his father, perhaps it should be no surprise that pressure on the pitch is something he handles with ease.

"The recruitment team deserve a lot of credit for the kind of players they bring in and personalities," Andrews said. "This is really notable. He is a really unique person who has fitted into life very nicely. He has had to earn this path. He has worked for his journey and grafted. He has got real determination 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."

Andrews Showing Doubters Incorrect

Their star striker is the man of the moment but Brentford are not and have never been a one-man band.

While they had star players – a host of talent – 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 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 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 Premier League and having made the leap from set-piece coach to the top job.

But given that Ipswich boss Kieran McKenna was the only other alternative that Brentford looked at, they were clearly confident they had the right man.

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

Andrews won just a single of his first 5 league games in charge but significant home victories against United, the Reds and the Magpies have since occurred.

Results that, following their excellent recent form, could prove increasingly important in the pursuit for European qualification.

"We are in fine fettle and playing really good. We are playing with courage and conviction in everything we do with and without the ball," he added. "We are happy with how we are going but we want to keep pushing."

In a league where the European spots and the lower mid-table are currently separated by just eight 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 reality those dreams of Europe will become.