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More than halfway through the season, Brentford find themselves in fantasy land.

Following four wins in five games, and a Samba striker netting the goals, suddenly Bees fans find themselves drifting off with thoughts of trips to European capitals next season.

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

Only table-toppers the Gunners have gathered more points over the past half-dozen matches.

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

No one was predicting this last off-season.

Thomas Frank had departed for Spurs after a seven-year stint in charge, a period in which he had not only got the club to the Premier League but also cemented them in the top flight.

Skipper Christian Norgaard left for the North London club and goal-scoring duo Bryan Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa – who scored a total of 39 goals in the previous campaign – were also sold, joining United and Newcastle United respectively.

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

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

So, how did they pull it off?

Igor Thiago's Record-breaking Campaign

Brentford's decision not to bring in another striker was partly down to circumstance, with Wissa's move not being finalized until deadline day.

But they also were aware they had a £30m striker already chomping at the bit.

Igor Thiago joined from Club Brugge 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.

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

Considering the fellow Brazilians who have preceded him, that is a remarkable feat, especially with seventeen matches remaining.

"He's been a revelation," former Liverpool midfielder an analyst said. "He is a physical specimen, quick, strong, but technically better 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 proud. That's a big 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 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 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 early opportunity cannot be overstated.

Prior to the game against their opponents, 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.

Considering the struggles he had in his youth, where he worked as a bricklayer to support his family following the death of his father, perhaps it should be no surprise that pressure 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. "This is really notable. He is a really unique person who has fitted into life very nicely. He has had to forge this path. He has worked for his journey and toiled. He has got serious grit about his personality. He is improving his abilities constantly and we are discovering more and more about him. He is a pretty complete centre-forward."

Andrews Showing 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 star players – a host of talent – under Frank, they were always seen as a team stronger than the sum of their parts.

The fear 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.

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

A maiden role is a challenge for anyone, let alone when it comes in the world's toughest league and having made the jump from specialist 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 convinced they had the right man.

So far, 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 significant home victories against Manchester United, the Reds and the Magpies have followed.

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

"We're in fine fettle and playing really good. We are playing with courage and belief in everything we do with and without the ball," Andrews added. "We are pleased with how we are going but we want to keep improving."

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 different.

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