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More than halfway through the season, Brentford are in dreamland.

Following four wins in five games, and a Brazilian striker scoring the goals, suddenly supporters find themselves drifting off with thoughts of trips to European capitals next season.

A emphatic three-nil win over Sunderland moved their manager's side into fifth in the top flight – a place that was sufficient to secure Champions League football last season.

Only table-toppers the Gunners 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 race for European football.

No one was predicting this last off-season.

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 cemented them in the elite division.

Skipper their Danish midfielder left for the North London club and goal-scoring duo Bryan Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa – who scored a total of thirty-nine goals in the previous campaign – were also sold, joining United and Newcastle respectively.

Specialist coach Keith Andrews was promoted to succeed the Dane, while there was a notable absence of a centre-forward among the off-season arrivals.

A year of difficulty, possibly even the drop, was widely predicted. But here we are in January with Brentford in the upper echelons.

So, how did they pull it off?

The Brazilian's Historic Season

Brentford's decision not to bring in another striker was in part down to circumstance, with one forward's move not going through until the final day of the window.

But they also knew they had a £30 million 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 without a goal in his initial outings.

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

Considering the countrymen who have preceded him, that is a remarkable feat, especially with 17 games left to play.

"He's been a revelation," former Liverpool midfielder an analyst said. "He's a physical specimen, fast, powerful, but technically better than people think. Excellent with his feet, both feet, he can score off both. You can see he's brimming with confidence. These numbers 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 underscores the standard he is playing at.

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

His first goal against the Black Cats was his 7th opener of the season. Considering 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 Sunderland, no player to have attempted at least thirty efforts this season has a better shooting accuracy than Igor Thiago's 59.1 percent.

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

Given the struggles 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.

"Our scouts deserve a lot of praise for the type of players they bring in and personalities," the manager said. "It is really impressive. He is a really special person who has adapted to life very well. He has had to forge this path. He has earned 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 all-round centre-forward."

The Manager Showing Doubters Wrong

Igor Thiago is the man of the moment but Brentford are not and have never been a single-player team.

While they had star players – a host of talent – under their previous boss, 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 sum of their parts alone might not be enough to avoid relegation.

Consequently, appointing their set-piece coach, with no previous managerial experience, and just a twelve months at the club was seen by those external observers as a huge risk.

A first managerial job is a challenge 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 one candidate was the only other alternative that Brentford looked at, they were clearly confident they had the correct candidate.

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

Andrews won just a single 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 run, could prove all the more important in the pursuit for Europe.

"We're in good form and playing really well. We are playing with bravery and conviction in everything we do with or without the ball," Andrews added. "We're 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 no other option, because things could quickly look very different.

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