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More than the midpoint of the season, The Bees are in a dream scenario.

With victories in their last five outings, and a Samba striker scoring the goals, suddenly Bees fans are dreaming of thoughts of trips to European capitals next season.

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

Solely leaders the Gunners have accumulated more points over the past six games.

There is a long way to go yet but the West London outfit are squarely in the fight for European football.

Few was forecasting this last summer.

Thomas Frank had left for Tottenham after seven years in charge, a period in which he had not only guided the club promoted but also cemented them in the top flight.

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

Set-piece coach Andrews was elevated to succeed the Dane, while there was no striker among the off-season arrivals.

A season of difficulty, possibly even relegation, was forecast. Yet here we are in the new year with Brentford in the upper echelons.

So, how have they managed it?

Igor Thiago's Record-breaking Campaign

Brentford's decision not to bring in another striker was partly down to circumstance, 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 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 his initial outings.

The 24-year-old 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 Premier League campaign.

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

"He's been a breath of fresh air," former Liverpool midfielder Danny Murphy said. "He is physically intimidating, fast, strong, but more skilled than people think. Excellent with his feet, either foot, 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 big compliment to him."

That only Erling Haaland, Harry Kane and Kylian Mbappe have scored more in any of the continent's major leagues to this point highlights the level he is playing at.

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

His first goal against the Black Cats was his 7th opener of the season. Considering how often we are told the significance of the first goal in a game, having someone you can depend on to take that early opportunity cannot be underestimated.

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

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

Given the struggles he had in his youth, where he worked as a bricklayer to support his family following the passing of his father, perhaps it should be unsurprising that high-stakes situations on the pitch is something he takes in his stride.

"The recruitment team deserve a lot of credit for the type of players they bring in and personalities," the manager said. "This is really notable. He is a really special person who has fitted into life very nicely. 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 abilities constantly and we are discovering more and more about him. He is a pretty complete centre-forward."

Andrews Proving Sceptics Incorrect

Igor Thiago 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 more effective than the individual components.

The fear was that once the manager 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 a blank managerial CV, and just a year at the club was seen by those external observers as a huge risk.

A first managerial job is a challenge 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 alternative that the hierarchy looked at, they were clearly confident 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 spot on.

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

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

"We are in fine fettle and playing really well. We are playing with bravery 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 pushing."

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 otherwise.

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