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

With victories in five games, and a Samba striker scoring the goals, suddenly Bees fans are envisioning thoughts of trips to European capitals next season.

A comprehensive 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 European football last season.

Only leaders Arsenal have gathered more points over the past six games.

There is a long way to go yet but the West London outfit are squarely in the race for European football.

Few was predicting this last summer.

Thomas Frank had left for Spurs after a seven-year stint in charge, a period in which he had not only guided the club promoted but also established them in the top flight.

Skipper Christian Norgaard left for Arsenal 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 United respectively.

Set-piece coach Andrews was promoted to succeed Frank, while there was a notable absence of a centre-forward among the summer signings.

A season of difficulty, possibly even relegation, was forecast. But here we are in the new year with the club in the top five.

So, how did they pull it off?

Igor Thiago's Historic Campaign

Brentford's decision not to sign another striker was in part down to timing, with one forward'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 plagued by fitness issues in his first 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 16 league goals – the most by a Brazilian in a single Premier League campaign.

Given the countrymen who have come before him, that is a remarkable feat, especially with 17 games left to play.

"He has been a revelation," former Liverpool midfielder Danny Murphy said. "He is a physical specimen, fast, strong, but technically better than people think. Good with his feet, either foot, he can score off both. You can see he's full of confidence. His statistics are incredible. He must be so proud. That's a huge 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 level he is playing at.

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

His first goal against the Black Cats was his 7th first goal of a game 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 early opportunity cannot be underestimated.

Prior to the game against Sunderland, no player to have attempted at least thirty efforts this season has a better shot accuracy rate than the striker's 59.1%.

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

Given the struggles he had earlier in life, where he worked as a bricklayer to support his family following the passing 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 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 adapted to 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 abilities constantly and we are learning more and more about him. He is a pretty complete centre-forward."

Andrews Showing Doubters Wrong

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 more effective 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.

Consequently, appointing Andrews, with no previous managerial experience, and just a year at the club was seen by those outside the club as a huge risk.

A maiden role 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 top job.

But given that Ipswich boss Kieran McKenna was the only other alternative that the hierarchy looked at, they were clearly convinced they had the right man.

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

The new boss won just a single of his first five league games in charge but significant home victories against United, Liverpool and the Magpies have since occurred.

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

"We're in fine fettle and playing really well. We are playing with courage and belief in everything we do with or without the ball," he added. "We are pleased with how we are going but we want to keep striving."

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 otherwise.

But, for now, Brentford are defying the odds. And the longer that continues, the closer to fruition those aspirations of Europe will become.