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More than the midpoint of the season, The Bees find themselves in fantasy land.

Following four wins in their last five outings, and a Samba striker banging in the goals, suddenly supporters find themselves drifting off with thoughts of trips to European capitals next season.

A emphatic three-nil win over Sunderland moved their manager's side into fifth in the Premier League – a place that was good enough to secure European football last season.

Only table-toppers the Gunners have gathered more points over the past half-dozen matches.

There is a significant distance to go yet but the West London outfit are squarely in the race for continental football.

Few was envisioning this last summer.

The former head coach had left for Spurs 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 elite division.

Skipper their Danish midfielder left for Arsenal and goal-scoring duo two key forwards – who scored a total of 39 goals in the previous campaign – were also sold, joining Manchester United and Newcastle United respectively.

Specialist coach Keith Andrews was promoted to succeed Frank, while there was a notable absence of a centre-forward among the off-season arrivals.

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

So, how did they pull it off?

Igor Thiago's Historic Campaign

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

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

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

Thiago has gone about compensating for lost time this season, though, with his double against Sunderland taking him to sixteen league goals – the most by a player from Brazil in a single Premier League campaign.

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

"He's been a revelation," former Liverpool midfielder Danny Murphy said. "He is physically intimidating, quick, 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 incredible. 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 underscores the standard he is operating at.

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

His first goal against the opposition 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 first big chance cannot be underestimated.

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 the striker's 59.1%.

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

Given the hardships 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 unsurprising that pressure on the pitch is something he takes in his stride.

"Our scouts deserve a lot of credit for the type 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 forge this path. He has earned his journey and toiled. He has got serious grit about his personality. He is improving his skill set constantly and we are learning more and more about him. He is a largely complete centre-forward."

The Manager Showing Doubters Wrong

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

While they had star players – Ivan Toney, Christian Eriksen, Mbeumo and Wissa – under Frank, they were always seen as a team more effective 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.

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 huge risk.

A maiden role is a challenge for anyone, especially when it comes in the world's toughest league and having made the leap from specialist coach to the manager's office.

But given that Ipswich Town manager Kieran McKenna was the only other option that Brentford looked at, they were clearly convinced 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 spot on.

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

Wins that, following their brilliant recent form, could prove all the more important in the race for European qualification.

"We are in good form and playing really well. We are playing with courage and conviction in everything we do with and without the ball," he added. "We're happy 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, Brentford are beating the odds. And the longer that lasts, the closer to fruition those dreams of the continent will become.