🔗 Share this article

More than the midpoint of the campaign, Brentford find themselves in fantasy land.

With victories in five games, and a Samba striker scoring the goals, suddenly Bees fans find themselves drifting off with thoughts of trips to European capitals next season.

A comprehensive three-nil win over Sunderland moved their manager's side into fifth in the top flight – a place that was sufficient to secure European football last term.

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

There's a significant distance to go yet but the West London outfit are firmly in the race for continental football.

No one was envisioning this last off-season.

The former head coach had left for Tottenham after seven years in charge, a period in which he had not only got the club promoted but also established them in the top flight.

Club captain their Danish midfielder left for Arsenal and attacking duo Bryan Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa – who scored a total of thirty-nine goals in 2024-25 – were also sold, joining United and Newcastle respectively.

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

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

So, how did they pull it off?

The Brazilian's Historic Season

Brentford's decision not to bring in another striker was partly down to timing, with one forward's move not going through until deadline day.

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

Igor Thiago joined from Belgium in July 2024 for a then-record fee, but was plagued by injury in his first campaign, going without a goal in eight appearances.

The 24-year-old has set about making up 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 English top-flight campaign.

Given the countrymen who have preceded him, that is a remarkable feat, especially with seventeen matches left to play.

"He's been a revelation," former Liverpool midfielder an analyst said. "He's physically intimidating, quick, powerful, but technically better than people think. Good with his feet, both feet, he can score with both. You can see he's brimming with confidence. His statistics are fantastic. He must be so pleased. That's a big 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 highlights the standard he is playing at.

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

His first goal against the opposition was his 7th 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 first big chance cannot be overstated.

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

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

Considering the struggles he had earlier in life, where he worked as a bricklayer to support his family following the death of his father, perhaps it should be no surprise that pressure on the pitch is something he takes in his stride.

"The recruitment team deserve a lot of praise for the kind of players they bring in and characters," Andrews said. "This is really impressive. He is a really unique person who has adapted to 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 abilities constantly and we are discovering more and more about him. He is a largely all-round centre-forward."

Andrews Showing Sceptics Wrong

Their star striker is the headline act but Brentford are not and have never been a single-player team.

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 sum of their parts.

The fear was that once the Dane left, that may not be the case, and that the collective quality of their parts alone might not be enough to avoid relegation.

Consequently, appointing their set-piece coach, with a blank managerial CV, and just a twelve months at the club was seen by those outside the club as a gamble.

A first managerial job is a challenge 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 boss Kieran McKenna was the only other option that the hierarchy looked at, they were clearly confident they had the correct candidate.

To date, as often seems to be the case with the key decision makers at the club, it looks as if they were vindicated.

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 followed.

Results that, following their excellent recent form, could prove all the more important in the race 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 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 a handful of points, they have no other option, because things could rapidly look very otherwise.

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