🔗 Share this article

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

With four wins in five games, and a Samba striker scoring the goals, suddenly supporters are envisioning thoughts of trips to Milan, Munich and Barcelona next season.

A emphatic three-nil win over the Black Cats moved their manager's side into the fifth spot in the top flight – a place that was good enough to secure Champions League football last term.

Solely leaders Arsenal have gathered more points over the past six games.

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

No one was forecasting this last off-season.

Thomas Frank had departed for Tottenham after a seven-year stint in charge, a period in which he had not only got the club to the Premier League but also established them in the top flight.

Skipper Christian Norgaard left for Arsenal and goal-scoring duo two key forwards – who scored a combined of 39 goals in the previous campaign – were out the door, joining Manchester United and Newcastle respectively.

Set-piece coach Keith Andrews was promoted to succeed the Dane, while there was no striker among the summer signings.

A season of struggle, possibly even the drop, was widely predicted. Yet here we are in the new year with Brentford in the top five.

So, how have they managed it?

The Brazilian's Historic Season

The club's decision not to bring in 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 £30 million striker already ready and waiting.

The 24-year-old joined from Club Brugge in the summer for a then club record fee, but was plagued by injury in his first campaign, going goalless in his initial outings.

The 24-year-old has set about compensating for lost time this season, though, with his double against the Wearside club taking him to 16 league goals – the most by a player from Brazil in a single English top-flight campaign.

Considering the countrymen who have preceded him, that is some accomplishment, especially with seventeen matches remaining.

"He has been a breath of fresh air," former Liverpool midfielder an analyst said. "He is 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 full of confidence. These numbers are fantastic. He must be so pleased. 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 volume but the crucial nature of the goals that have been so important for Brentford.

His opener against the opposition was his 7th first goal of a game of the season. Considering how often we are told the importance of the initial strike in a game, having someone you can depend on to take that early opportunity cannot be underestimated.

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

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

Considering 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 unsurprising that high-stakes situations 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 characters," the manager said. "It is really notable. He is a really unique person who has adapted to life very nicely. 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 largely all-round centre-forward."

The Manager Proving Doubters Wrong

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

While they had key individuals – a host of talent – under their previous boss, they were always seen as a team stronger than the sum of their parts.

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 Andrews, with no previous managerial experience, and just a twelve months at the club was seen by those external observers as a huge risk.

A first managerial job 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 boss Kieran McKenna was the only other alternative that Brentford 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 five league games in charge but significant home victories against United, Liverpool and the Magpies have since occurred.

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

"We're in good form and playing really well. We are playing with bravery and conviction in everything we do with and without the ball," Andrews added. "We're happy with how we are going but we want to keep pushing."

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 otherwise.

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