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

Following four wins in five games, and a Brazilian 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 their manager's side into fifth in the top flight – a position that was good enough to secure European football last season.

Only leaders the Gunners have collected more points over the past six games.

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

Few was envisioning this last off-season.

The former head coach had left 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 elite division.

Skipper their Danish midfielder left for the North London club and goal-scoring duo Bryan Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa – who scored a total of thirty-nine goals in the previous campaign – were out the door, joining Manchester United and Newcastle United respectively.

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

A year of struggle, possibly even relegation, 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 Record-breaking Campaign

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

But they also knew they had a £30 million 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 gone 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 fellow Brazilians who have preceded him, that is some accomplishment, especially with seventeen matches remaining.

"He's been a breath of fresh air," pundit an analyst said. "He's a physical specimen, quick, powerful, but more skilled 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 a trio of global superstars have scored more in any of the continent's major leagues to this point shows the level he is operating at.

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

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

Prior to 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 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 no surprise that pressure on the pitch is something he handles with ease.

"Our scouts 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 unique person who has fitted into life very well. He has had to forge this path. He has earned his journey and grafted. He has got serious grit about his personality. He is improving his skill set constantly and we are learning more and more about him. He is a pretty all-round centre-forward."

Andrews Proving Sceptics Incorrect

Igor Thiago is the headline act but Brentford are not and have never been a single-player team.

While they had star players – Ivan Toney, Christian Eriksen, Mbeumo and Wissa – under Frank, they were always seen as a team stronger than the sum of their parts.

The concern was that once the Dane 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 their set-piece coach, with a blank managerial CV, and just a year at the club was seen by those external observers as a gamble.

A maiden role is a challenge for anyone, especially when it comes in the Premier 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 the hierarchy looked at, they were clearly confident they had the right man.

To date, as often seems to be the case with the brains trust at Brentford, it looks as if they were correct.

Andrews won just one of his first five league games in charge but big home victories against United, the Reds and Newcastle have since occurred.

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

"We are in good form and playing really well. We are playing with bravery and conviction in everything we do with and without the ball," he added. "We are happy 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 rapidly look very different.

But, for now, Brentford are beating the predictions. And the longer that continues, the closer to fruition those dreams of the continent will become.