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Over the midpoint of the campaign, The Bees find themselves in dreamland.

Following four wins in their last five outings, and a Samba striker banging in the goals, suddenly supporters find themselves drifting off with thoughts of trips to Milan, Munich and Barcelona next season.

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

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

There is a long way to go yet but Brentford are firmly in the race for continental football.

No one was forecasting this last off-season.

The former head coach had left for Spurs after seven years in charge, a period in which he had not only got the club to the Premier League but also cemented them in the elite division.

Skipper Christian Norgaard left for Arsenal and attacking duo Bryan Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa – who scored a combined of thirty-nine goals in the previous campaign – were also sold, joining Manchester United and Newcastle United respectively.

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

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

So, how have they managed it?

The Brazilian's Record-breaking Campaign

The club's decision not to bring in another striker was in part down to circumstance, with Wissa'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-record fee, but was plagued by injury in his first campaign, going without a goal in his initial outings.

Thiago has set about making up 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 Premier League campaign.

Given the fellow Brazilians who have come before him, that is some accomplishment, especially with seventeen matches left to play.

"He's been a revelation," 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 off 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 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 volume but the timing of the goals that have been so vital for his team.

His first goal against the opposition was his seventh opener of the season. Given how often we are told the significance of the first goal in a game, having someone you can depend on to take that first big chance cannot be overstated.

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

Considering the struggles he had earlier in life, where he labored in construction 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 credit for the kind of players they bring in and characters," the manager said. "This is really notable. He is a really unique person who has adapted to life very nicely. He has had to forge this path. He has earned his journey and toiled. He has got real determination about his personality. He is developing his skill set constantly and we are learning more and more about him. He is a largely all-round centre-forward."

The Manager Proving Doubters Wrong

Their star striker is the man of the moment but the team are not and have never been a single-player team.

While they had key individuals – Ivan Toney, Christian Eriksen, Mbeumo and Wissa – under Frank, they were always seen as a team stronger than the individual components.

The concern was that once the manager left, that may not be the case, and that the collective quality of Brentford's parts alone might not be enough to stay up.

Consequently, appointing Andrews, with no previous managerial experience, and just a twelve months at the club was seen by those outside the club as a huge risk.

A maiden role 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 boss Kieran McKenna was the only other alternative that the hierarchy looked at, they were clearly confident they had the right man.

So far, as often seems to be the case with the key decision makers at the club, it looks as if they were correct.

The new boss won just one of his first 5 league games in charge but big home victories against Manchester United, Liverpool and the Magpies have followed.

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

"We're in good form and playing really good. We are playing with bravery 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 striving."

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

But, for now, The Bees are defying the predictions. And the longer that lasts, the closer to fruition those dreams of Europe will become.