🔗 Share this article

Over halfway through the campaign, The Bees are in a dream scenario.

With victories in their last five outings, and a Samba striker scoring the goals, suddenly supporters find themselves drifting off with thoughts of trips to Milan, Munich and Barcelona next season.

A convincing three-nil win over the Black Cats moved their manager's side into fifth in the Premier League – a position that was sufficient to secure Champions League football last term.

Only leaders Arsenal have gathered more points over the past half-dozen matches.

There's a long way to go yet but the West London outfit are squarely in the fight for continental football.

Few was envisioning this last summer.

The former head coach had departed for Spurs 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.

Skipper their Danish midfielder left for Arsenal and attacking duo Bryan Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa – who scored a combined of thirty-nine goals in 2024-25 – were out the door, joining Manchester United and Newcastle respectively.

Set-piece coach Andrews was elevated to replace Frank, while there was a notable absence of a centre-forward among the summer signings.

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

So, how did they pull it off?

Igor Thiago's Historic Season

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

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

Igor Thiago joined from Club Brugge in the summer for a then club record fee, but was plagued by fitness issues in his debut campaign, going without a goal in his initial outings.

The 24-year-old has set about compensating for lost time this season, though, with his brace against Sunderland 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 come before him, that is some accomplishment, especially with seventeen matches left to play.

"He has been a breath of fresh air," former Liverpool midfielder an analyst said. "He is physically intimidating, quick, strong, but more skilled 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 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 shows the level he is operating at.

And it is not just the volume 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 initial strike in a game, having someone you can depend on to take that early opportunity cannot be overstated.

Before 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. Do that often enough 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 death of his father, perhaps it should be no surprise that high-stakes situations 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 adapted to life very nicely. He has had to forge this path. He has worked for 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 Proving 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 their previous boss, they were always seen as a team more effective than the individual components.

The concern 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.

Consequently, appointing Andrews, with a blank managerial CV, and just a twelve months at the club was seen by those external observers as a gamble.

A maiden role is a challenge for anyone, let alone when it comes in the Premier League and having made the jump from set-piece coach to the manager's office.

But given that Ipswich boss Kieran McKenna was the only other option that Brentford looked at, they were clearly convinced 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 five league games in charge but big home victories against Manchester United, the Reds and the Magpies have followed.

Results 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 belief in everything we do with and without the ball," he added. "We're pleased with how we are going but we want to keep improving."

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 defying the odds. And the longer that lasts, the closer to fruition those dreams of Europe will become.