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More than the midpoint of the season, Brentford find themselves in dreamland.

With victories in five games, and a Brazilian striker scoring the goals, suddenly Bees fans are dreaming of thoughts of trips to Milan, Munich and Barcelona next season.

A comprehensive three-nil win over Sunderland moved Keith Andrews' side into fifth in the Premier League – a position that was sufficient to secure Champions League football last season.

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

There is a significant distance to go yet but Brentford are firmly in the race for continental football.

No one was envisioning this last summer.

The former head coach had departed for Tottenham after a seven-year stint 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 Christian Norgaard left for Arsenal and attacking duo two key forwards – who scored a total of thirty-nine goals in the previous campaign – were also sold, joining Manchester United and Newcastle respectively.

Specialist coach Keith Andrews was elevated to replace the Dane, while there was no striker among the summer signings.

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

So, how have they managed it?

The Brazilian's Record-breaking Campaign

The club's decision not to sign another striker was in part down to timing, with Wissa'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.

The 24-year-old joined from Club Brugge in the summer for a then club record fee, but was plagued by fitness issues in his first campaign, going without a goal in his initial outings.

The 24-year-old has set about making up for lost time this season, though, with his double against Sunderland taking him to sixteen league goals – the highest tally by a Brazilian in a single Premier League campaign.

Considering the countrymen who have preceded him, that is a remarkable feat, especially with 17 games remaining.

"He has been a breath of fresh air," pundit an analyst said. "He's a physical specimen, fast, powerful, but more skilled 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 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 Europe's top five leagues to this point highlights the standard he is operating at.

And it is not just the volume but the crucial nature of the goals that have been so pivotal for his team.

His opener against the opposition was his seventh 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.

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 hits the target. Achieve that often enough and the goals will – and have – come.

Given the struggles 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 high-stakes situations on the pitch is something he handles with ease.

"The recruitment team deserve a lot of praise for the kind of players they bring in and characters," Andrews said. "It is really notable. He is a really unique person who has adapted to life very nicely. He has had to forge this path. He has earned his journey and grafted. He has got serious grit about his personality. He is developing his skill set constantly and we are learning more and more about him. He is a pretty all-round centre-forward."

Andrews Proving Doubters Wrong

Igor Thiago is the headline act but Brentford 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 stronger than the sum of their parts.

The fear was that once the Dane left, that may not be the case, and that the sum of Brentford's parts alone might not be enough to stay up.

Consequently, appointing their set-piece coach, with no previous managerial experience, and just a year at the club was seen by those outside the club as a gamble.

A first managerial job is a challenge for anyone, let alone 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 Town manager one candidate 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 brains trust at Brentford, it looks as if they were spot on.

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

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

"We are in fine fettle and playing really well. We are playing with bravery and conviction in everything we do with and without the ball," he added. "We're happy with how we are going but we want to keep pushing."

In a league where the European spots and the lower mid-table are currently separated by just eight points, they have no other option, because things could quickly look very different.

But, for now, The Bees are defying the predictions. And the longer that continues, the closer to reality those dreams of Europe will become.