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More than halfway through the season, Brentford find themselves in a dream scenario.

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

A comprehensive three-nil win over the Black Cats moved their manager's side into fifth in the Premier League – a place 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 Brentford are squarely in the fight for continental football.

Few was forecasting this last off-season.

The former head coach had departed for Spurs after seven years in charge, a period in which he had not only guided the club to the Premier League but also established them in the top flight.

Club captain their Danish midfielder left for Arsenal and attacking duo two key forwards – 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 Keith Andrews was promoted to succeed the Dane, while there was no striker among the off-season arrivals.

A year of struggle, possibly even the drop, was forecast. Yet here we are in the new year with the club in the upper echelons.

So, how have they managed it?

The Brazilian's Historic Season

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

But they also knew they had a £30m striker already waiting to go.

The 24-year-old joined from Club Brugge in the summer for a then club record fee, but was plagued by injury in his debut campaign, going goalless in his initial outings.

Thiago has gone 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 a remarkable feat, especially with seventeen matches remaining.

"He's been a revelation," former Liverpool midfielder an analyst said. "He's physically intimidating, fast, strong, but more skilled than people think. Good with his feet, either foot, he can score off both. You can see he's full of confidence. His statistics are fantastic. 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 Europe's top five leagues to this point shows the standard he is playing at.

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

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

Before the game against their opponents, no player to have attempted at least 30 shots this season has a better shooting accuracy than the striker's 59.1%.

He hits the target. Achieve that consistently and the goals will – and have – come.

Considering the hardships he had earlier in life, where he labored in construction to provide for 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 personalities," the manager said. "This is really notable. He is a really special person who has adapted to life very well. He has had to earn this path. He has worked for his journey and toiled. He has got real determination about his personality. He is improving his abilities constantly and we are learning more and more about him. He is a largely complete centre-forward."

Andrews Showing Doubters Wrong

Their star striker is the headline act but Brentford are not and have never been a single-player team.

While they had key individuals – a host of talent – under their previous boss, they were always seen as a team more effective than the sum of their parts.

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 avoid relegation.

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

A first managerial job is a test for anyone, let alone when it comes in the world's toughest league and having made the jump from specialist coach to the manager's office.

But given that Ipswich Town manager one candidate was the only other option 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 correct.

The new boss won just one of his first five league games in charge but significant home victories against United, Liverpool and Newcastle have followed.

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

"We are in good form and playing really well. We are playing with courage and belief in everything we do with or without the ball," he 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 eight points, they have little choice, because things could rapidly look very different.

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