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More than the midpoint of the season, Brentford are in fantasy land.

With four wins in five games, and a Samba striker netting the goals, suddenly supporters are dreaming of thoughts of trips to European capitals next season.

A convincing 3-0 win over the Black Cats moved Keith Andrews' side into fifth in the top flight – a position that was good enough to secure Champions League football last season.

Only table-toppers the Gunners have collected more points over the past six games.

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

Few was forecasting this last summer.

Thomas Frank had departed 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 the North London club and attacking duo two key forwards – who scored a combined of 39 goals in the previous campaign – were also sold, joining Manchester United and Newcastle United respectively.

Set-piece coach Andrews was elevated to succeed Frank, while there was no striker among the summer signings.

A season of struggle, possibly even the drop, was widely predicted. Yet here we are in January with the club in the upper echelons.

So, how did they pull it off?

The Brazilian's Historic Campaign

The club's decision not to bring in another striker was partly down to timing, with one forward's move not being finalized until the final day of the window.

But they also were aware they had a £30m striker already ready and waiting.

The 24-year-old 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 compensating for lost time this season, though, with his brace against Sunderland taking him to sixteen league goals – the most by a player from Brazil in a single English top-flight campaign.

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

"He has been a breath of fresh air," former Liverpool midfielder Danny Murphy said. "He's a physical specimen, fast, strong, but technically better than people think. Excellent 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 pleased. That's a big compliment to him."

That only a trio of global superstars have scored more in any of the continent's major 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 his team.

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

Before the game against Sunderland, no player to have attempted at least 30 shots 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 labored in construction to provide for his family following the passing 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 type of players they bring in and personalities," the manager said. "It is really impressive. He is a really special 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 skill set constantly and we are discovering more and more about him. He is a pretty complete centre-forward."

The Manager Proving Sceptics Wrong

Igor Thiago 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 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 stay up.

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

A maiden role is a test for anyone, let alone when it comes in the Premier League and having made the jump from specialist coach to the manager's office.

But given that Ipswich boss Kieran McKenna was the only other option that Brentford looked at, they were clearly convinced they had the correct candidate.

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

Andrews won just a single of his first five league games in charge but significant home victories against United, the Reds and the Magpies have since occurred.

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

"We're in good form and playing really good. We are playing with bravery and conviction in everything we do with and without the ball," Andrews added. "We're 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 quickly look very different.

But, for now, Brentford are beating the predictions. And the longer that continues, the closer to fruition those aspirations of the continent will become.