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More than the midpoint of the campaign, The Bees find themselves in dreamland.

With victories in their last five outings, and a Brazilian striker scoring the goals, suddenly supporters are envisioning thoughts of trips to Milan, Munich and Barcelona next season.

A convincing three-nil win over Sunderland moved their manager's side into the fifth spot in the Premier League – a place that was good enough to secure Champions League football last term.

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

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

Few was envisioning this last summer.

Thomas Frank had departed for Tottenham after seven years in charge, a period in which he had not only guided the club promoted but also established them in the top flight.

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

Specialist coach Andrews was promoted 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. But here we are in January with the club in the upper echelons.

So, how did they pull it off?

The Brazilian's Record-breaking Campaign

The club's decision not to sign another striker was in part down to timing, with Wissa's move not going through until the final day of the window.

But they also were aware they had a £30m striker already chomping at the bit.

The 24-year-old 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 eight appearances.

The 24-year-old has gone about making up for lost time this season, though, with his double against the Wearside club taking him to 16 league goals – the most by a Brazilian in a single English top-flight campaign.

Given the countrymen who have preceded him, that is some accomplishment, especially with seventeen matches remaining.

"He has been a revelation," former Liverpool midfielder an analyst said. "He is a physical specimen, quick, strong, but technically better than people think. Good with his feet, both feet, he can score off 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 underscores the standard he is playing at.

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

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 first goal in a game, having someone you can depend on to take that early opportunity cannot be overstated.

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

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

Given the struggles he had in his youth, where he labored in construction to support his family following the passing of his father, perhaps it should be unsurprising that pressure on the pitch is something he handles with ease.

"The recruitment team deserve a lot of credit for the kind of players they bring in and characters," the manager said. "It is really notable. He is a really special person who has adapted to life very nicely. He has had to earn this path. He has earned 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 pretty complete centre-forward."

Andrews Showing Doubters Wrong

Igor Thiago is the man of the moment but Brentford are not and have never been a single-player team.

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 their parts alone might not be enough to avoid relegation.

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

A first managerial job is a test for anyone, let alone when it comes in the Premier League and having made the leap from specialist coach to the top job.

But given that Ipswich Town manager one candidate 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 Brentford, it looks as if they were spot on.

Andrews won just one of his first five league games in charge but big home victories against United, Liverpool and the Magpies have followed.

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

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

In a league where the European spots and the lower mid-table are currently separated by just a handful of points, they have little choice, because things could quickly look very otherwise.

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