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Over halfway through the season, The Bees find themselves in dreamland.

Following victories in their last five outings, and a Samba 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 the Black Cats moved Keith Andrews' side into the fifth spot in the top flight – a position that was good enough to secure European football last term.

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

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

No one was envisioning this last off-season.

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

Club captain Christian Norgaard left for Arsenal and attacking duo Bryan Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa – who scored a combined of 39 goals in the previous campaign – were out the door, joining Manchester United and Newcastle United respectively.

Specialist coach Andrews was elevated 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 the club in the upper echelons.

So, what is behind their success?

Igor Thiago's Historic Campaign

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

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

The 24-year-old joined from Club Brugge in July 2024 for a then club record fee, but was hindered by injury in his debut campaign, going without a goal in his initial outings.

Thiago has set 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 English top-flight campaign.

Considering the countrymen who have come before him, that is a remarkable feat, especially with 17 games left to play.

"He has been a breath of fresh air," pundit Danny Murphy said. "He is physically intimidating, fast, powerful, but technically better than people think. Good with his feet, either foot, 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 huge 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 playing 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 Black Cats was his seventh first goal of a game of the season. Considering how often we are told the importance of the initial strike in a game, having someone you can depend on to take that early opportunity cannot be overstated.

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 percent.

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

Given the struggles he had in his youth, where he labored in construction to provide for his family following the death 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 fitted into life very well. He has had to forge this path. He has earned his journey and grafted. 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 complete centre-forward."

The Manager Showing Doubters Incorrect

Igor Thiago is the man of the moment but Brentford 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 stronger than the individual components.

The fear 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 avoid relegation.

Consequently, appointing their set-piece coach, with a blank managerial CV, and just a year at the club was seen by those external observers as a gamble.

A first managerial job is a challenge for anyone, especially 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 boss 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 key decision makers 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 significant home victories against United, Liverpool and Newcastle have since occurred.

Wins that, following their excellent recent form, could prove increasingly important in the pursuit for Europe.

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

In a league where fourth and 15th are currently separated by just eight points, they have no other option, because things could rapidly look very otherwise.

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