🔗 Share this article

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

Following four wins in their last five outings, and a Brazilian striker netting the goals, suddenly Bees fans find themselves drifting off with thoughts of trips to Milan, Munich and Barcelona next season.

A convincing 3-0 win over the Black Cats moved their manager's side into fifth in the Premier League – a place that was good enough to secure Champions League football last term.

Only table-toppers Arsenal have gathered more points over the past six games.

There is a long way to go yet but the West London outfit are firmly in the battle for European football.

Few was predicting this last off-season.

Thomas Frank had left for Spurs after a seven-year stint in charge, a period in which he had not only guided the club to the Premier League but also established them in the elite division.

Club captain their Danish midfielder left for the North London club and goal-scoring duo two key forwards – who scored a combined of thirty-nine goals in 2024-25 – were out the door, joining Manchester United and Newcastle United respectively.

Specialist coach Andrews was elevated to replace Frank, while there was no striker among the summer signings.

A year of struggle, possibly even relegation, was widely predicted. But here we are in the new year with the club in the upper echelons.

So, what is behind their success?

Igor Thiago's Historic Season

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

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

Igor Thiago joined from Belgium in the summer for a then-record fee, but was hindered by fitness issues in his debut campaign, going goalless in eight appearances.

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 player from Brazil in a single Premier League campaign.

Considering the countrymen who have preceded him, that is a remarkable feat, especially with 17 games remaining.

"He's been a breath of fresh air," former Liverpool midfielder an analyst said. "He is a physical specimen, fast, strong, but technically better than people think. Good with his feet, either foot, he can score off both. You can see he's brimming with confidence. These numbers are incredible. 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 the continent's major leagues to this point shows the standard he is operating at.

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

His opener against the Black Cats 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 shooting accuracy than Igor Thiago's 59.1 percent.

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

Given the struggles he had earlier in life, where he labored in construction to support his family following the passing 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 praise for the type of players they bring in and personalities," Andrews said. "This is really notable. He is a really special person who has fitted into life very well. He has had to earn this path. He has worked for his journey and grafted. He has got serious grit about his personality. He is developing his skill set constantly and we are learning more and more about him. He is a pretty complete centre-forward."

Andrews Proving Sceptics Wrong

Their star striker is the man of the moment but the team are not and have never been a one-man band.

While they had star players – Ivan Toney, Christian Eriksen, Mbeumo and Wissa – under their previous boss, 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 stay up.

As a result, appointing Andrews, with no previous managerial experience, and just a year at the club was seen by those external observers as a gamble.

A maiden role is a test for anyone, let alone when it comes in the world's toughest league and having made the leap from set-piece coach to the manager's office.

But given that Ipswich Town manager Kieran McKenna was the only other option that the hierarchy looked at, they were clearly confident they had the correct candidate.

So far, 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 one of his first five league games in charge but significant home victories against United, Liverpool and Newcastle have since occurred.

Wins that, following their excellent recent run, could prove increasingly important in the race for European qualification.

"We're in fine fettle and playing really well. We are playing with bravery and conviction in everything we do with or without the ball," he added. "We're pleased 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 eight points, they have no other option, because things could rapidly look very different.

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