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

Following victories in five games, and a Brazilian striker netting the goals, suddenly supporters are envisioning thoughts of trips to European capitals next season.

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

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

There's a long way to go yet but Brentford are firmly in the fight for European football.

Few 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 promoted but also cemented them in the elite division.

Skipper Christian Norgaard left for the North London club and goal-scoring duo Bryan Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa – who scored a combined of thirty-nine goals in the previous campaign – were out the door, joining 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 difficulty, possibly even relegation, was widely predicted. But here we are in January with the club in the top five.

So, what is behind their success?

Igor Thiago's Historic Season

The club's decision not to sign another striker was partly down to timing, with Wissa's move not being finalized until deadline day.

But they also knew they had a £30m striker already ready and waiting.

Igor Thiago joined from Belgium in the summer for a then-record fee, but was plagued by injury in his first campaign, going without a goal in his initial outings.

Thiago has set about making up for lost time this season, though, with his brace against Sunderland taking him to 16 league goals – the most by a Brazilian in a single English top-flight campaign.

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

"He has been a revelation," former Liverpool midfielder Danny Murphy said. "He is physically intimidating, fast, powerful, but technically better than people think. Excellent with his feet, both feet, he can score with both. You can see he's brimming with confidence. These numbers 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 Europe's top five leagues to this point underscores the standard he is operating at.

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

His first goal against the Black Cats was his seventh opener of the season. Considering how often we are told the importance of the first goal in a game, having someone you can depend on to take that early opportunity cannot be overstated.

Prior to the game against their opponents, 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. Do that consistently and the goals will – and have – come.

Given the hardships he had in his youth, where he worked as a bricklayer to support his family following the passing of his father, perhaps it should be unsurprising that pressure on the pitch is something he takes in his stride.

"The recruitment team deserve a lot of praise for the type of players they bring in and characters," the manager said. "It is really impressive. He is a really special person who has fitted into life very well. 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 developing his skill set constantly and we are learning more and more about him. He is a largely all-round centre-forward."

Andrews Proving Sceptics Incorrect

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

While they had key individuals – a host of talent – under Frank, they were always seen as a team more effective than the sum of their parts.

The concern was that once the manager left, that may not be the case, and that the sum of their parts alone might not be enough to stay up.

As a result, appointing their set-piece coach, with no previous managerial experience, and just a twelve months at the club was seen by those outside the club as a huge risk.

A maiden role is a challenge for anyone, especially when it comes in the world's toughest league and having made the jump 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 right man.

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

Andrews won just a single of his first five league games in charge but significant home victories against Manchester United, the Reds and the Magpies have since occurred.

Wins that, following their excellent recent run, could prove all the more important in the pursuit for European qualification.

"We are in good form and playing really good. We are playing with courage and belief in everything we do with or 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 no other option, because things could rapidly look very different.

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