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Over halfway through the campaign, The Bees find themselves in a dream scenario.

Following victories in their last five outings, and a Brazilian striker scoring the goals, suddenly supporters are dreaming of thoughts of trips to European capitals next season.

A convincing 3-0 win over Sunderland moved Keith Andrews' side into fifth in the top flight – a place that was good enough to secure European football last term.

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

There is a long way to go yet but Brentford are firmly in the battle for European football.

No one was envisioning this last summer.

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

Club captain their Danish midfielder left for the North London club and attacking duo Bryan Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa – who scored a combined of 39 goals in the previous campaign – were also sold, joining United and Newcastle United respectively.

Set-piece coach Keith Andrews was elevated to replace the Dane, while there was a notable absence of a centre-forward among the off-season arrivals.

A year of struggle, possibly even the drop, was forecast. Yet here we are in January with the club in the upper echelons.

So, how did they pull it off?

The Brazilian's Historic Campaign

The club's decision not to sign another striker was partly 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 £30 million striker already ready and waiting.

The 24-year-old joined from Club Brugge in the summer for a then-record fee, but was hindered by injury in his debut campaign, going goalless in eight appearances.

The 24-year-old has set about making up for lost time this season, though, with his brace against the Wearside club 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 17 games remaining.

"He's been a breath of fresh air," pundit an analyst said. "He is a physical specimen, fast, powerful, but more skilled than people think. Excellent with his feet, either foot, he can score off both. You can see he's brimming with confidence. These numbers 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 Europe's top five leagues to this point underscores the standard he is operating at.

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

His first goal against the opposition was his seventh first goal of a game of the season. Given how often we are told the significance of the initial strike in a game, having someone you can depend on to take that first big chance cannot be underestimated.

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.

Given the hardships he had in his youth, where he worked as a bricklayer to support his family following the death of his father, perhaps it should be unsurprising that pressure on the pitch is something he takes in his stride.

"The recruitment team deserve a lot of praise for the kind of players they bring in and personalities," the manager said. "This is really impressive. He is a really special person who has fitted into life very well. He has had to earn this path. He has earned his journey and grafted. He has got real determination about his personality. He is improving his skill set constantly and we are discovering more and more about him. He is a pretty all-round centre-forward."

Andrews Proving Doubters Wrong

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

While they had key individuals – a host of talent – under their previous boss, they were always seen as a team more effective than the individual components.

The concern was that once the Dane left, that may not be the case, and that the collective quality of their parts alone might not be enough to stay up.

Consequently, appointing their set-piece coach, with a blank managerial CV, and just a twelve months at the club was seen by those outside the club as a gamble.

A first managerial job is a challenge for anyone, let alone when it comes in the world's toughest league and having made the jump from specialist 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 convinced they had the correct candidate.

So far, as often seems to be the case with the key decision makers at Brentford, it looks as if they were vindicated.

The new boss won just one of his first 5 league games in charge but big home victories against United, Liverpool and the Magpies have followed.

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

"We're in good form and playing really good. We are playing with bravery and belief in everything we do with or without the ball," Andrews added. "We are pleased 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 quickly look very different.

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