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

With four wins in five games, and a Brazilian striker banging in the goals, suddenly Bees fans are dreaming of thoughts of trips to European capitals next season.

A emphatic 3-0 win over Sunderland moved their manager's side into the fifth spot in the top flight – a position that was sufficient to secure Champions League football last term.

Solely leaders Arsenal have accumulated more points over the past six games.

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

Few was forecasting this last off-season.

The former head coach had departed for Tottenham after seven years in charge, a period in which he had not only guided the club to the Premier League but also established them in the elite division.

Skipper Christian Norgaard left for the North London club and attacking 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.

Set-piece coach Andrews was promoted to replace Frank, while there was no striker among the summer signings.

A season of difficulty, possibly even relegation, was widely predicted. Yet here we are in the new year with Brentford in the upper echelons.

So, how did they pull it off?

The Brazilian's Record-breaking Campaign

Brentford's decision not to bring in another striker was partly down to circumstance, with Wissa's move not being finalized until deadline day.

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

Igor Thiago joined from Belgium in the summer for a then club record fee, but was hindered by fitness issues in his debut campaign, going without a goal in eight appearances.

Thiago has gone about making up for lost time this season, though, with his double against the Wearside club taking him to sixteen league goals – the highest tally by a player from Brazil in a single Premier League campaign.

Considering the fellow Brazilians who have come before him, that is a remarkable feat, especially with seventeen matches remaining.

"He has been a breath of fresh air," former Liverpool midfielder an analyst said. "He's physically intimidating, quick, powerful, but more skilled than people think. Good with his feet, both feet, he can score with both. You can see he's brimming with confidence. His statistics 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 shows the level he is operating at.

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

His first goal 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 overstated.

Before the game against Sunderland, 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. Do that often enough and the goals will – and have – come.

Considering the hardships 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 unsurprising that high-stakes situations on the pitch is something he takes in his stride.

"Our scouts deserve a lot of credit 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 fitted into life very well. He has had to forge this path. He has worked for 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 largely complete centre-forward."

Andrews Showing Doubters Wrong

Their star striker is the man of the moment but the team are not and have never been a one-man band.

While they had star players – a host of talent – 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 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 year at the club was seen by those external observers as a gamble.

A maiden role is a challenge for anyone, let alone when it comes in the world's toughest league and having made the leap from set-piece coach to the manager's office.

But given that Ipswich boss Kieran McKenna was the only other option that Brentford looked at, they were clearly confident they had the right man.

To date, as often seems to be the case with the key decision makers at the club, 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, the Reds and Newcastle have followed.

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

"We're in fine fettle and playing really good. We are playing with courage and conviction in everything we do with or without the ball," he added. "We're pleased 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 no other option, because things could rapidly look very different.

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