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

Following victories in five games, and a Samba striker banging in the goals, suddenly Bees fans are envisioning thoughts of trips to European capitals next season.

A emphatic three-nil win over Sunderland moved Keith Andrews' side into fifth in the top flight – a place that was good enough to secure European football last season.

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

There is a significant distance to go yet but Brentford are firmly in the race for continental football.

No one was predicting this last off-season.

Thomas Frank had departed for Spurs after seven years in charge, a period in which he had not only guided the club to the Premier League but also cemented them in the elite division.

Skipper their Danish midfielder left for the North London club and goal-scoring 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 respectively.

Specialist coach Andrews was promoted to replace Frank, while there was a notable absence of a centre-forward among the summer signings.

A year of difficulty, possibly even relegation, was forecast. 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

Brentford's decision not to sign another striker was partly down to circumstance, with Wissa's move not being finalized until deadline day.

But they also were aware they had a £30 million striker already ready and waiting.

Igor Thiago joined from Belgium in July 2024 for a then club record fee, but was hindered by fitness issues 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 brace against Sunderland taking him to 16 league goals – the highest tally by a Brazilian in a single English top-flight campaign.

Considering the fellow Brazilians who have preceded him, that is a remarkable feat, especially with 17 games left to play.

"He's been a revelation," pundit an analyst said. "He's physically intimidating, fast, powerful, but more skilled than people think. Excellent with his feet, either foot, he can score off both. You can see he's brimming with confidence. These numbers 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 the continent's major leagues to this point highlights the standard he is playing at.

And it is not just the quantity but the timing of the goals that have been so important for his team.

His opener against the opposition was his seventh opener of the season. Given how often we are told the significance of the initial strike 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 thirty efforts this season has a better shooting accuracy than Igor Thiago's 59.1%.

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

Given the struggles he had in his youth, where he worked as a bricklayer to support his family following the passing of his father, perhaps it should be no surprise that high-stakes situations on the pitch is something he takes in his stride.

"Our scouts deserve a lot of credit for the kind of players they bring in and characters," Andrews said. "This is really impressive. He is a really unique person who has adapted to life very well. He has had to earn this path. He has earned his journey and grafted. 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 pretty all-round centre-forward."

Andrews Showing Doubters Wrong

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

While they had star players – a host of talent – 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 sum of Brentford's parts alone might not be enough to avoid relegation.

As a result, appointing their set-piece coach, with no previous managerial experience, and just a year at the club was seen by those outside the club as a gamble.

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 set-piece coach to the top job.

But given that Ipswich boss one candidate was the only other option that the hierarchy looked at, they were clearly convinced they had the correct candidate.

So far, as often seems to be the case with the key decision makers at the club, it looks as if they were spot on.

The new boss won just one of his first 5 league games in charge but big home victories against Manchester United, Liverpool and Newcastle have since occurred.

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

"We're in good form and playing really good. 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 no other option, because things could quickly look very different.

But, for now, Brentford are defying the predictions. And the longer that lasts, the closer to fruition those dreams of Europe will become.