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Over halfway through the season, The Bees are in dreamland.

With victories in five games, and a Brazilian striker banging in the goals, suddenly supporters 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 the fifth spot in the Premier League – a place that was good enough to secure European football last season.

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

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

Few was forecasting this last off-season.

Thomas Frank 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 the North London club and goal-scoring duo two key forwards – who scored a total of thirty-nine goals in the previous campaign – were out the door, joining United and Newcastle United respectively.

Specialist coach Keith Andrews was elevated to succeed the Dane, while there was no striker among the off-season arrivals.

A season of struggle, possibly even the drop, was widely predicted. Yet here we are in January with the club 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 circumstance, with Wissa's move not going through until deadline day.

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

Igor Thiago joined from Belgium in the summer for a then-record fee, but was hindered by injury in his debut 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 the Wearside club taking him to 16 league goals – the highest tally by a player from Brazil in a single Premier League campaign.

Given the fellow Brazilians who have come before him, that is a remarkable feat, especially with 17 games remaining.

"He has 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. His statistics 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 underscores the level he is operating at.

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

His opener against the Black Cats was his 7th first goal of a game of the season. Given how often we are told the significance of the initial strike in a game, having someone you can rely on to take that first big chance cannot be overstated.

Before the game against their opponents, no player to have attempted at least thirty efforts this season has a better shot accuracy rate than Igor Thiago's 59.1 percent.

He hits the target. Do that often enough and the goals will – and have – come.

Given the hardships he had earlier in life, where he worked as a bricklayer 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 personalities," the manager said. "It is really impressive. He is a really special person who has adapted to life very nicely. He has had to earn this path. He has worked for his journey and grafted. He has got real determination 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."

The Manager Showing Sceptics Wrong

Igor Thiago 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 Frank, 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 Brentford's parts alone might not be enough to stay up.

As a result, appointing their set-piece coach, 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 test for anyone, especially when it comes in the Premier League and having made the jump from specialist coach to the top job.

But given that Ipswich Town manager 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 brains trust at Brentford, 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 brilliant recent run, could prove increasingly important in the pursuit for Europe.

"We are in fine fettle 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 fourth and 15th are currently separated by just a handful of points, they have little choice, because things could quickly look very otherwise.

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