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Over halfway through the campaign, Brentford find themselves in dreamland.

With victories in five games, and a Brazilian striker scoring 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 Keith Andrews' side into fifth in the top flight – a position that was sufficient to secure Champions League football last season.

Solely table-toppers Arsenal have gathered more points over the past half-dozen matches.

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

No one was predicting this last summer.

The former head coach had departed for Tottenham after a seven-year stint in charge, a period in which he had not only guided the club promoted but also cemented them in the top flight.

Club captain Christian Norgaard left for the North London club and attacking duo two key forwards – who scored a total of 39 goals in the previous campaign – were out the door, joining Manchester United and Newcastle respectively.

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

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

So, how did they pull it off?

Igor Thiago's Historic Season

The club's decision not to bring in another striker was in part 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.

The 24-year-old joined from Belgium in the summer for a then club record fee, but was hindered by injury in his first campaign, going without a goal in his initial outings.

The 24-year-old has set about making up for lost time this season, though, with his brace against Sunderland taking him to sixteen 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 a remarkable feat, especially with 17 games left to play.

"He's been a breath of fresh air," former Liverpool midfielder Danny Murphy said. "He is physically intimidating, quick, strong, but technically better than people think. Good with his feet, both feet, he can score with both. You can see he's full of confidence. These numbers are incredible. 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 Europe's top five leagues to this point highlights the level he is playing at.

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

His opener against the Black Cats was his seventh opener of the season. Considering how often we are told the significance of the first goal in a game, having someone you can rely 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 shot accuracy rate than the striker's 59.1%.

He hits 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 provide for his family following the passing of his father, perhaps it should be unsurprising that pressure on the pitch is something he handles with ease.

"Our scouts deserve a lot of praise for the kind of players they bring in and characters," Andrews said. "It is really notable. He is a really special person who has adapted to 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 developing his skill set constantly and we are discovering more and more about him. He is a largely complete centre-forward."

The Manager Proving Sceptics Wrong

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

While they had star players – a host of talent – under Frank, they were always seen as a team stronger than the individual components.

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 avoid relegation.

Consequently, appointing Andrews, with no previous managerial experience, and just a twelve months at the club was seen by those outside the club as a gamble.

A maiden role is a challenge for anyone, especially when it comes in the world's toughest league and having made the leap from set-piece coach to the top job.

But given that Ipswich Town manager Kieran McKenna was the only other alternative that Brentford looked at, they were clearly confident they had the right man.

So far, as often seems to be the case with the brains trust at Brentford, it looks as if they were spot on.

The new boss won just one of his first 5 league games in charge but significant home victories against United, Liverpool and Newcastle have since occurred.

Results that, following their excellent recent run, could prove all the more important in the race for Europe.

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

In a league where fourth and 15th are currently separated by just a handful of points, they have no other option, because things could rapidly look very otherwise.

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