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More than the midpoint of the season, The Bees are in a dream scenario.

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

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

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

There is a significant distance to go yet but Brentford are squarely in the fight for European football.

No one was envisioning this last off-season.

Thomas Frank had left for Spurs after a seven-year stint in charge, a period in which he had not only guided the club to the Premier League but also cemented them in the elite division.

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 respectively.

Specialist coach Keith Andrews was elevated to succeed 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 January with Brentford 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 Wissa's move not being finalized until the final day of the window.

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-record fee, but was hindered by fitness issues in his first campaign, going goalless in eight appearances.

The 24-year-old has gone about compensating for lost time this season, though, with his brace against Sunderland taking him to 16 league goals – the highest tally by a player from Brazil in a single English top-flight campaign.

Given the countrymen 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 Danny Murphy said. "He is a physical specimen, fast, strong, but technically better than people think. Excellent with his feet, both feet, 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 big 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 standard he is operating at.

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

His first goal against the Black Cats was his seventh first goal of a game of the season. Given how often we are told the importance of the initial strike in a game, having someone you can rely 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 shot accuracy rate than Igor Thiago's 59.1%.

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

Considering the struggles he had in his youth, where he worked as a bricklayer to provide for his family following the passing of his father, perhaps it should be no surprise that high-stakes situations on the pitch is something he handles with ease.

"The recruitment team deserve a lot of credit for the type of players they bring in and personalities," the manager said. "This 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 improving his abilities constantly and we are discovering more and more about him. He is a largely complete centre-forward."

Andrews Proving Doubters Wrong

Their star striker is the man of the moment but Brentford 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 stronger than the individual components.

The fear was that once the Dane left, that may not be the case, and that the sum of their parts alone might not be enough to avoid relegation.

As a result, appointing their set-piece coach, with no previous managerial experience, and just a year at the club was seen by those external observers as a gamble.

A first managerial job is a test for anyone, especially when it comes in the world's toughest 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 alternative that Brentford looked at, they were clearly convinced they had the right man.

To date, 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 5 league games in charge but significant home victories against United, Liverpool and Newcastle have since occurred.

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

"We're 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 are happy with how we are going but we want to keep improving."

In a league where the European spots and the lower mid-table are currently separated by just a handful of points, they have no other option, because things could quickly look very different.

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