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Over the midpoint of the campaign, The Bees find themselves in a dream scenario.

With four wins in their last five outings, and a Samba striker scoring the goals, suddenly Bees fans find themselves drifting off with thoughts of trips to European capitals next season.

A emphatic three-nil win over Sunderland moved Keith Andrews' side into fifth in the Premier League – a position that was good enough to secure European football last season.

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

There is a significant distance to go yet but Brentford are firmly in the race for European football.

Few was forecasting this last summer.

The former head coach had departed for Tottenham after seven years in charge, a period in which he had not only guided the club to the Premier League but also established them in the top flight.

Club captain their Danish midfielder left for the North London club and attacking duo two key forwards – who scored a combined of 39 goals in the previous campaign – were out the door, joining Manchester United and Newcastle respectively.

Specialist coach Andrews was promoted to replace Frank, while there was no striker among the summer signings.

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 have they managed it?

Igor Thiago's Historic Campaign

The club's decision not to bring in another striker was in part down to timing, with one forward's move not being finalized until deadline day.

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

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

Thiago has gone about compensating for lost time this season, though, with his double against the Wearside club taking him to 16 league goals – the highest tally by a player from Brazil in a single English top-flight campaign.

Considering the countrymen who have come before him, that is some accomplishment, especially with seventeen matches remaining.

"He's been a breath of fresh air," pundit an analyst said. "He's a physical specimen, fast, strong, but more skilled than people think. Excellent with his feet, either foot, he can score with both. You can see he's brimming with confidence. His statistics are fantastic. 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 shows the level he is operating at.

And it is not just the volume but the crucial nature of the goals that have been so vital for his team.

His opener 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 early opportunity cannot be underestimated.

Prior to the game against their opponents, no player to have attempted at least 30 shots this season has a better shot accuracy rate than Igor Thiago's 59.1 percent.

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

Given the hardships he had earlier in life, where he labored in construction to provide for his family following the death of his father, perhaps it should be no surprise that pressure on the pitch is something he handles with ease.

"The recruitment team deserve a lot of praise for the kind of players they bring in and characters," Andrews said. "This is really notable. He is a really special person who has adapted to life very well. He has had to earn 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 all-round centre-forward."

The Manager Proving Doubters Wrong

Their star striker is the headline act but the team are not and have never been a one-man band.

While they had key individuals – a host of talent – under Frank, they were always seen as a team stronger than the sum of their parts.

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

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

A first managerial job 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 one candidate 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 correct.

Andrews won just a single of his first five league games in charge but big home victories against United, Liverpool and Newcastle have since occurred.

Wins that, following their brilliant recent form, could prove increasingly important in the race for European qualification.

"We are in good form and playing really good. We are playing with courage and belief in everything we do with or without the ball," Andrews added. "We're 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 little choice, because things could rapidly look very different.

But, for now, The Bees are beating the predictions. And the longer that lasts, the closer to reality those dreams of the continent will become.