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More than the midpoint of the campaign, The Bees are in dreamland.

Following victories in their last five outings, and a Brazilian striker scoring the goals, suddenly Bees fans find themselves drifting off with thoughts of trips to Milan, Munich and Barcelona next season.

A comprehensive 3-0 win over the Black Cats moved their manager's side into fifth in the Premier League – a position that was sufficient to secure Champions League football last term.

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

There's a long way to go yet but Brentford are squarely in the battle for European football.

No one was predicting this last off-season.

Thomas Frank had departed for Tottenham after seven years in charge, a period in which he had not only guided the club promoted but also established them in the elite division.

Skipper Christian Norgaard left for Arsenal and goal-scoring duo Bryan Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa – who scored a total of 39 goals in the previous campaign – were also sold, joining United and Newcastle United respectively.

Set-piece 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 struggle, possibly even relegation, was widely predicted. Yet here we are in the new year with the club in the top five.

So, what is behind their success?

Igor Thiago's Historic Campaign

The club's decision not to sign another striker was partly down to circumstance, with one forward's move not going through until the final day of the window.

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

Igor Thiago joined from Club Brugge in the summer for a then-record fee, but was hindered by injury in his first campaign, going goalless in his initial outings.

The 24-year-old has set about making up for lost time this season, though, with his double against the Wearside club taking him to sixteen league goals – the most by a player from Brazil in a single Premier League campaign.

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

"He has been a breath of fresh air," former Liverpool midfielder an analyst said. "He's physically intimidating, quick, powerful, but more skilled than people think. Excellent with his feet, both feet, he can score off both. You can see he's brimming with confidence. His statistics are fantastic. He must be so proud. That's a huge compliment to him."

That only a trio of global superstars have scored more in any of the continent's major leagues to this point shows the standard he is playing at.

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

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

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

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

Given the hardships he had earlier in life, where he worked as a bricklayer to support his family following the death 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 credit for the kind of players they bring in and personalities," the manager said. "It is really notable. He is a really special person who has adapted to life very well. He has had to forge this path. He has earned his journey and grafted. 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 all-round centre-forward."

Andrews Proving Sceptics Incorrect

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 collective quality of their parts alone might not be enough to stay up.

As a result, appointing Andrews, with a blank managerial CV, and just a year at the club was seen by those outside the club as a huge risk.

A first managerial job is a challenge 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 boss one candidate was the only other alternative that the hierarchy looked at, they were clearly convinced they had the right man.

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

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

Wins that, following their excellent recent run, could prove increasingly important in the race for European qualification.

"We're in good form and playing really good. We are playing with courage and conviction in everything we do with or 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 little choice, because things could rapidly look very otherwise.

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