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Over halfway through the campaign, Brentford find themselves in dreamland.

With four wins in their last five outings, and a Brazilian striker scoring the goals, suddenly supporters are envisioning thoughts of trips to Milan, Munich and Barcelona next season.

A comprehensive 3-0 win over Sunderland moved Keith Andrews' side into fifth in the Premier League – a place that was good enough to secure Champions League football last season.

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

There's a long way to go yet but the West London outfit are firmly in the race for continental football.

No one was forecasting this last summer.

The former head coach 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.

Club captain 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 Keith Andrews was promoted to replace the Dane, while there was a notable absence of a centre-forward among the summer signings.

A season of struggle, possibly even the drop, was widely predicted. But here we are in the new year with the club in the top five.

So, what is behind their success?

The Brazilian's Historic Season

The club's decision not to sign another striker was partly down to timing, with Wissa's move not being finalized until deadline day.

But they also knew they had a £30m striker already waiting to go.

Igor Thiago joined from Belgium in the summer for a then club record fee, but was plagued by fitness issues in his debut campaign, going goalless in his initial outings.

The 24-year-old has gone about making up for lost time this season, though, with his double against the Wearside club taking him to sixteen league goals – the highest tally by a player from Brazil in a single Premier League campaign.

Given the fellow Brazilians who have preceded him, that is a remarkable feat, especially with 17 games remaining.

"He has been a breath of fresh air," former Liverpool midfielder Danny Murphy said. "He is physically intimidating, fast, strong, but technically better than people think. Excellent with his feet, either foot, he can score with both. You can see he's full of 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 highlights 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 7th opener of the season. Given how often we are told the importance of the first goal in a game, having someone you can rely on to take that first big chance cannot be overstated.

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. Achieve that consistently and the goals will – and have – come.

Considering the hardships he had in his youth, where he worked as a bricklayer to provide for 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.

"Our scouts deserve a lot of praise for the type of players they bring in and characters," Andrews said. "This is really notable. He is a really unique person who has fitted into life very well. He has had to forge this path. He has worked for his journey and grafted. He has got serious grit about his personality. He is improving his skill set constantly and we are learning more and more about him. He is a largely all-round centre-forward."

The Manager Proving Sceptics Wrong

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

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 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 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 maiden role is a test for anyone, especially when it comes in the world's toughest league and having made the leap from specialist 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 right man.

To date, as often seems to be the case with the brains trust at Brentford, it looks as if they were spot on.

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

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

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

In a league where fourth and 15th are currently separated by just a handful of points, they have no other option, because things could quickly look very different.

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