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

With victories in their last five outings, and a Samba striker banging in the goals, suddenly supporters are envisioning thoughts of trips to European capitals next season.

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

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

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

No one was envisioning this last off-season.

Thomas Frank had departed for Spurs after seven years in charge, a period in which he had not only guided the club to the Premier League but also cemented them in the elite division.

Skipper their Danish midfielder left for Arsenal and goal-scoring duo two key forwards – who scored a combined of thirty-nine goals in the previous campaign – were also sold, joining United and Newcastle United respectively.

Specialist coach Andrews was promoted to succeed the Dane, while there was no striker among the off-season arrivals.

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

So, how did they pull it off?

The Brazilian's Record-breaking Campaign

The club's decision not to bring in another striker was partly down to timing, with Wissa'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 club record fee, but was plagued by injury in his first campaign, going without a goal 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 Brazilian in a single Premier League campaign.

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

"He has been a revelation," pundit an analyst said. "He is physically intimidating, quick, powerful, but more skilled than people think. Good with his feet, both feet, he can score off both. You can see he's full of confidence. These numbers 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 standard he is operating at.

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

His first goal against the Black Cats was his 7th first goal of a game of the season. Given 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 overstated.

Before the game against their opponents, no player to have attempted at least thirty efforts this season has a better shot accuracy rate than Igor Thiago's 59.1%.

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

Considering the hardships he had earlier in life, where he labored in construction to support his family following the passing of his father, perhaps it should be no surprise that high-stakes situations 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," Andrews said. "It is really impressive. He is a really special person who has fitted into life very nicely. He has had to earn this path. He has worked for his journey and toiled. He has got serious grit about his personality. He is developing his skill set constantly and we are discovering more and more about him. He is a pretty complete centre-forward."

Andrews Showing Sceptics Wrong

Igor Thiago is the headline act but the team are not and have never been a one-man band.

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 sum of their parts.

The concern was that once the manager left, that may not be the case, and that the sum of their parts alone might not be enough to avoid relegation.

As a result, appointing their set-piece coach, with a blank managerial CV, and just a year at the club was seen by those outside the club as a huge risk.

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 option that the hierarchy looked at, they were clearly convinced they had the right man.

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

Andrews won just one 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 pursuit for European qualification.

"We are in good form 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 striving."

In a league where the European spots and the lower mid-table are currently separated by just a handful of points, they have little choice, because things could rapidly look very otherwise.

But, for now, Brentford are defying the odds. And the longer that lasts, the closer to reality those dreams of the continent will become.