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Over the midpoint of the campaign, Brentford are in dreamland.

With four wins in five games, and a Samba striker netting the goals, suddenly Bees fans find themselves drifting off with thoughts of trips to Milan, Munich and Barcelona next season.

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

Only leaders Arsenal have accumulated more points over the past six games.

There's a significant distance to go yet but Brentford are squarely in the race for European football.

No one was envisioning this last summer.

The former head coach had departed for Spurs 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 elite division.

Club captain their Danish midfielder left for Arsenal and attacking duo Bryan Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa – who scored a combined of thirty-nine goals in the previous campaign – were also sold, joining Manchester United and Newcastle respectively.

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

A season of difficulty, possibly even relegation, was widely predicted. Yet here we are in January with the club in the upper echelons.

So, how did they pull it off?

Igor Thiago's Historic Campaign

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

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 club record fee, but was hindered by injury in his debut campaign, going without a goal in eight appearances.

Thiago has set about compensating for lost time this season, though, with his double against Sunderland taking him to sixteen league goals – the highest tally by a Brazilian in a single English top-flight campaign.

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

"He has been a revelation," pundit Danny Murphy said. "He's a physical specimen, quick, powerful, but technically better than people think. Excellent with his feet, both feet, he can score off both. You can see he's brimming with confidence. These numbers are incredible. He must be so pleased. That's a big compliment to him."

That only a trio of global superstars have scored more in any of Europe's top five leagues to this point underscores the level he is playing at.

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

His first goal against the opposition was his seventh opener 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 overstated.

Prior to the game against Sunderland, no player to have attempted at least thirty efforts this season has a better shot accuracy rate than the striker's 59.1 percent.

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

Given the struggles he had earlier in life, 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 handles with ease.

"Our scouts deserve a lot of credit for the type of players they bring in and personalities," Andrews said. "This is really impressive. He is a really unique person who has fitted into 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 improving his skill set constantly and we are discovering more and more about him. He is a pretty all-round centre-forward."

Andrews Showing Sceptics Wrong

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

While they had key individuals – Ivan Toney, Christian Eriksen, Mbeumo and Wissa – under Frank, they were always seen as a team stronger 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 outside the club as a huge risk.

A maiden role is a challenge for anyone, especially when it comes in the Premier League and having made the leap from specialist coach to the top job.

But given that Ipswich Town manager one candidate was the only other option that Brentford looked at, they were clearly confident they had the right man.

To date, 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 five league games in charge but significant home victories against Manchester United, Liverpool and the Magpies have since occurred.

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

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

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 different.

But, for now, The Bees are beating the predictions. And the longer that continues, the closer to fruition those dreams of Europe will become.