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Over halfway through the season, The Bees are in dreamland.

With victories in five games, and a Samba striker scoring the goals, suddenly supporters are dreaming of thoughts of trips to Milan, Munich and Barcelona next season.

A convincing 3-0 win over the Black Cats moved Keith Andrews' side into the fifth spot in the Premier League – a place that was sufficient to secure Champions League football last season.

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

There's a significant distance to go yet but Brentford are squarely in the fight for continental football.

Few was envisioning this last summer.

The former head coach had departed for Spurs after seven years 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 two key forwards – who scored a combined of 39 goals in the previous campaign – were out the door, joining United and Newcastle respectively.

Set-piece coach Keith Andrews was elevated to succeed the Dane, while there was no striker among the off-season arrivals.

A year of struggle, possibly even relegation, was widely predicted. But here we are in January with Brentford in the top five.

So, what is behind their success?

The Brazilian's Historic Campaign

The club's decision not to sign another striker was in part down to timing, with one forward's move not going through until deadline day.

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

Igor Thiago joined from Belgium in the summer for a then-record fee, but was plagued by fitness issues 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 Sunderland taking him to 16 league goals – the most by a player from Brazil in a single Premier League campaign.

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

"He's been a revelation," pundit an analyst said. "He is a physical specimen, quick, powerful, but technically better than people think. Excellent with his feet, either foot, he can score off 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 a trio of global superstars have scored more in any of the continent's major leagues to this point shows the standard he is playing at.

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

His opener against the opposition was his seventh 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 rely on to take that early opportunity cannot be underestimated.

Prior to the game against Sunderland, no player to have attempted at least 30 shots this season has a better shot accuracy rate than Igor Thiago's 59.1 percent.

He hits the target. Achieve that often enough and the goals will – and have – come.

Given the struggles he had in his youth, where he worked as a bricklayer to provide for his family following the death of his father, perhaps it should be no surprise 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 personalities," Andrews said. "This is really notable. He is a really unique 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 real determination about his personality. He is developing his skill set constantly and we are discovering more and more about him. He is a largely complete centre-forward."

Andrews Showing Sceptics Incorrect

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

While they had star players – a host of talent – under their previous boss, 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 sum of Brentford's parts alone might not be enough to avoid relegation.

Consequently, appointing Andrews, with no previous managerial experience, and just a twelve months 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 Premier League and having made the jump 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 convinced they had the correct candidate.

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 5 league games in charge but significant home victories against Manchester United, Liverpool and the Magpies have followed.

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

"We are in good form and playing really well. We are playing with bravery 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 eight points, they have little choice, because things could quickly look very different.

But, for now, The Bees are beating the odds. And the longer that lasts, the closer to fruition those dreams of Europe will become.