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More than the midpoint of the campaign, Brentford find themselves in fantasy land.

Following four wins in their last five outings, and a Brazilian striker banging in the goals, suddenly supporters are dreaming of thoughts of trips to Milan, Munich and Barcelona next season.

A emphatic three-nil win over the Black Cats moved Keith Andrews' side into fifth in the top flight – a place that was good enough to secure European football last season.

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

There's a significant distance to go yet but Brentford are squarely in the battle for continental football.

Few was predicting this last summer.

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

Club captain Christian Norgaard left for Arsenal and goal-scoring duo Bryan Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa – who scored a combined of thirty-nine goals in the previous campaign – were out the door, joining Manchester United and Newcastle United respectively.

Specialist coach Keith Andrews was promoted to succeed Frank, 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. Yet here we are in January with the club in the upper echelons.

So, how did they pull it off?

The Brazilian's Record-breaking Season

Brentford's decision not to sign another striker was in part down to timing, with one forward's move not being finalized until the final day of the window.

But they also knew they had a £30 million striker already chomping at the bit.

Igor Thiago joined from Belgium in the summer for a then-record fee, but was hindered by fitness issues in his first 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 preceded him, that is a remarkable feat, especially with seventeen matches remaining.

"He's been a breath of fresh air," former Liverpool midfielder Danny Murphy said. "He's a physical specimen, quick, powerful, but technically better than people think. Good with his feet, either foot, he can score off both. You can see he's brimming with confidence. His statistics are incredible. He must be so pleased. 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 shows the standard he is operating at.

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

His first goal against the opposition was his 7th first goal of a game of the season. Considering 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 underestimated.

Before the game against Sunderland, no player to have attempted at least thirty efforts this season has a better shot accuracy rate 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 passing of his father, perhaps it should be unsurprising 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 impressive. He is a really special person who has adapted to life very nicely. He has had to earn this path. He has earned his journey and toiled. He has got real determination about his personality. He is improving his skill set constantly and we are learning more and more about him. He is a pretty all-round centre-forward."

The Manager Proving Sceptics Incorrect

Igor Thiago is the headline act but Brentford are not and have never been a single-player team.

While they had star players – 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 collective quality of Brentford's parts alone might not be enough to stay up.

Consequently, appointing Andrews, with a blank managerial CV, and just a twelve months at the club was seen by those external observers as a gamble.

A first managerial job is a test for anyone, especially when it comes in the world's toughest league and having made the leap from specialist coach to the top job.

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

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

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

Results that, following their excellent recent run, could prove all the more important in the race for Europe.

"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 happy 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 beating the predictions. And the longer that lasts, the closer to fruition those aspirations of Europe will become.