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Over halfway through the season, Brentford are in fantasy land.

With victories in their last five outings, and a Samba striker scoring the goals, suddenly supporters are envisioning thoughts of trips to Milan, Munich and Barcelona next season.

A comprehensive three-nil win over Sunderland moved Keith Andrews' side into fifth in the Premier League – a place that was good enough to secure Champions League football last season.

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

There's a long way to go yet but the West London outfit are firmly in the fight for European football.

No one was predicting this last off-season.

The former head coach had departed for Tottenham after seven years in charge, a period in which he had not only got 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 United and Newcastle respectively.

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

A season of struggle, possibly even relegation, was forecast. But here we are in January with the club in the top five.

So, how have they managed it?

Igor Thiago's Record-breaking Campaign

The club's decision not to sign another striker was partly down to timing, with one forward's move not going through until the final day of the window.

But they also knew they had a £30m striker already waiting to go.

The 24-year-old joined from Belgium in July 2024 for a then club record fee, but was plagued by fitness issues in his debut campaign, going goalless in his initial outings.

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

Given the fellow Brazilians who have come before him, that is some accomplishment, especially with 17 games remaining.

"He has been a revelation," pundit Danny Murphy said. "He is a physical specimen, fast, powerful, but more skilled than people think. Good with his feet, both feet, he can score with both. You can see he's full of confidence. These numbers are fantastic. He must be so proud. That's a huge compliment to him."

That only a trio of global superstars have scored more in any of the continent's major leagues to this point shows the level he is operating at.

And it is not just the volume but the crucial nature of the goals that have been so vital for his team.

His opener against the Black Cats was his seventh opener of the season. Considering how often we are told the importance of the first goal in a game, having someone you can depend on to take that first big chance cannot be overstated.

Before the game against Sunderland, no player to have attempted at least 30 shots this season has a better shooting accuracy than the striker's 59.1%.

He hits the target. Do 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 high-stakes situations on the pitch is something he handles with ease.

"Our scouts deserve a lot of praise for the kind of players they bring in and characters," Andrews said. "It is really notable. 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 grafted. 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 Proving Sceptics Incorrect

Their star striker is the man of the moment but Brentford are not and have never been a single-player team.

While they had key individuals – a host of talent – under Frank, they were always seen as a team stronger than the individual components.

The fear 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.

As a result, 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 huge risk.

A maiden role is a test for anyone, especially when it comes in the world's toughest league and having made the jump from specialist coach to the top job.

But given that Ipswich Town manager 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 Brentford, it looks as if they were correct.

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

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

"We are in good form 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 improving."

In a league where fourth and 15th are currently separated by just a handful of points, they have little choice, because things could quickly look very otherwise.

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