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More than halfway through the season, The Bees find themselves in dreamland.

Following victories in five games, and a Brazilian striker netting the goals, suddenly supporters are envisioning thoughts of trips to Milan, Munich and Barcelona next season.

A emphatic 3-0 win over Sunderland moved their manager's side into the fifth spot in the Premier League – a place that was sufficient to secure Champions League football last season.

Only leaders 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.

The former head coach had departed for Tottenham after a seven-year stint in charge, a period in which he had not only got the club promoted but also cemented them in the top flight.

Skipper their Danish midfielder left for the North London club and goal-scoring duo Bryan Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa – who scored a combined of 39 goals in the previous campaign – were also sold, joining United and Newcastle respectively.

Specialist coach Andrews was elevated to replace the Dane, 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. But here we are in January with the club in the upper echelons.

So, what is behind their success?

The Brazilian's Record-breaking Campaign

The club's decision not to sign another striker was partly down to circumstance, with Wissa's move not going through 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 Belgium in the summer for a then-record fee, but was hindered by fitness issues in his first campaign, going without a goal in his initial outings.

The 24-year-old has set about compensating for lost time this season, though, with his double against the Wearside club taking him to 16 league goals – the most by a player from Brazil in a single English top-flight campaign.

Given the countrymen who have preceded him, that is a remarkable feat, especially with seventeen matches left to play.

"He's been a breath of fresh air," former Liverpool midfielder Danny Murphy said. "He is a physical specimen, fast, powerful, but technically better than people think. Good with his feet, either foot, he can score with both. You can see he's full of confidence. His statistics are incredible. He must be so proud. That's a huge compliment to him."

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

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

His opener against the opposition 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 rely 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%.

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

Considering the hardships he had in his youth, 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.

"Our scouts deserve a lot of praise for the kind of players they bring in and personalities," the manager said. "This is really impressive. He is a really special person who has fitted into life very well. He has had to earn this path. He has earned his journey and grafted. He has got serious grit about his personality. He is developing his abilities constantly and we are learning more and more about him. He is a largely complete centre-forward."

Andrews Proving Sceptics Incorrect

Their star striker is the headline act but the team 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 concern was that once the manager 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 external observers as a huge risk.

A maiden role is a challenge for anyone, let alone when it comes in the world's toughest league and having made the leap from set-piece coach to the manager's office.

But given that Ipswich boss Kieran McKenna was the only other option that Brentford looked at, they were clearly convinced 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 5 league games in charge but big home victories against United, Liverpool and Newcastle have since occurred.

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

"We are in fine fettle and playing really good. We are playing with bravery and conviction 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 eight points, they have little choice, because things could quickly look very otherwise.

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