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Over halfway through the campaign, Brentford are in fantasy land.

With victories in their last five outings, and a Brazilian striker banging in the goals, suddenly Bees fans are dreaming of thoughts of trips to Milan, Munich and Barcelona next season.

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

Only leaders Arsenal have accumulated more points over the past half-dozen matches.

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

No one was predicting this last off-season.

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 elite division.

Skipper Christian Norgaard left for the North London club and attacking duo Bryan Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa – who scored a combined of thirty-nine goals in the previous campaign – were also sold, joining Manchester 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 struggle, possibly even relegation, was widely predicted. Yet here we are in January with the club in the top five.

So, how did they pull it off?

Igor Thiago's Record-breaking Season

Brentford's decision not to bring in another striker was in part down to circumstance, with one forward's move not being finalized 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 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 16 league goals – the highest tally 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 remaining.

"He's been a revelation," former Liverpool midfielder Danny Murphy said. "He is physically intimidating, quick, strong, but more skilled than people think. Good with his feet, both feet, he can score with both. You can see he's full of 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 highlights the level he is playing at.

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

His first goal against the opposition was his seventh opener of the season. Given how often we are told the significance of the initial strike in a game, having someone you can rely 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 the striker's 59.1 percent.

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

Considering the struggles he had in his youth, where he labored in construction to support his family following the death of his father, perhaps it should be unsurprising 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 characters," Andrews said. "This 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 earned his journey and grafted. 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 pretty all-round centre-forward."

Andrews Showing Sceptics Wrong

Their star striker is the headline act but the team are not and have never been a single-player team.

While they had key individuals – Ivan Toney, Christian Eriksen, Mbeumo and Wissa – under Frank, they were always seen as a team more effective 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 stay up.

As a result, appointing Andrews, with a blank managerial CV, and just a twelve months at the club was seen by those outside the club as a gamble.

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

But given that Ipswich Town manager Kieran McKenna was the only other alternative that Brentford looked at, they were clearly convinced 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.

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

Wins that, following their brilliant recent form, could prove all the more important in the pursuit for European qualification.

"We're in fine fettle and playing really well. We are playing with courage and conviction in everything we do with and without the ball," Andrews added. "We are happy with how we are going but we want to keep pushing."

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, The Bees are defying the predictions. And the longer that continues, the closer to fruition those dreams of Europe will become.