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Albion boss Roberto Di Matteo is back in the business of managing expectations after 11 goals and nine points in the last three games.

The Italian cautioned the Baggies faithful said: “It’s not going to happen all the time. Don’t get used to it.”

Trouble is they are. They are loving what they are seeing at the moment – with good reason – and are probably more confident of a Premier League promotion this time around than they were on the previous three occasions under Gary Megson and Tony Mowbray.

Four points clear of third after 17 games is no mean achievement after a summer of change even greater than the club imagined following the collapse of the former manager’s top-flight adventure.

To have reached this point without their two crocked top-of-the-range Championship players, Ishmael Miller and James Morrison, has a Premier League equivalent in Chelsea doing likewise without Drogba and Lampard.

So keeping eyes fixed firmly on the next match, not the intended route for the open-top bus tour or how Albion might change their yo-yo existence in the Noughties, will be Di Matteo’s toughest task as he revels in his team’s progress.

Strangely, Albion matched the scoreline Mowbray’s Class of 2007 enjoyed against the same opponents in the same fixture 23 months ago. The starting XI’s were completely different but the games uncannily similar – City coming to the Hawthorns hot on Albion’s heels in the promotion race but put to the sword by some swashbuckling attacking football before grabbing a consolation goal in the last 10 minutes.

But there are differences between the ‘ToMo’ crew and RDM’s 2009 version. This may have been a victory lit up by three peachy goals in the quartet which buried City but it was clinched by the defenders who protected their advantage – and that, as much as the fluent attacking football, will be what’s really cheering the Baggies fans today.

This was an open contest in which the visitors stuck to their pledge to not park the team coach across their goal-line but ‘come and have a go’ at out-playing Albion. Going two-down inside the first 15 minutes only beefed up their willingness to be hung for a sheep as a lamb.

That they were cut to pieces as a consequence does not mean they did not have their moments and it was heartening to see an Albion side no longer intent on shooting itself in the foot or offering the opposition the freedom of their penalty area from set-pieces.

Individuals are benefitting accordingly. It wasn’t that long ago that Gianni Zuiverloon’s positional glitches were such it looked as if Di Matteo was ready to push him into an advanced midfield role to fully exploit his undoubted attacking qualities.

But he seems to have recovered splendidly and enjoyed a fine game on one side of a central defensive core in Abou Meite and Jonas Olsson which looks reassuringly strong and ready to do the ugly stuff.

What a pity that Joe Mattock’s recent development was brought to a halt by an early injury – although how many of Albion’s rivals would love to have a World Cup-bound player of Marek Cech’s quality up their sleeve as a replacement?

Behind this defence which has now conceded just four goals in the seven games that have followed that chastening – but perhaps welcome – experience at Barnsley, a career is coming back together again.

We may be guilty in the media of constantly badgering  Scott Carson about playing for England again but the truth is the goalkeeper is actually enjoying his spell in the Championship backwaters.

Graham Taylor would read a lot into the beard Albion’s captain now sports having once argued that Roy Keane’s signalled that of a man with a troubled mind, maybe Carson did become sick to death of the post-Croatia fall-out and entered a kind of footballing ‘rehab’ at the Hawthorns.

Whatever the motivations, behind a settled defence he is busy reminding himself, never mind Fabio Capello, about why he was so highly thought of in the first place. Faultless kicking and solid handling in rotten conditions, topped by the saves he produced at each end of the game to flip over efforts from Louis Carey and Paul Hartley. reminded us too.

Another comparison and guess what? Albion have scored the same 35 goals they had at this stage in the title-winning year and only conceded one fewer – but there is optimism they can survive the winter’s onslaught with greater security this time.

Their attacking range is certainly going to test the Championship in the months ahead as Saturday’s goals emphasised.

The first, after three minutes, sprang from possibly the game’s defining moment as Zuiverloon completed a goal-line clearance from a Cole Skuse effort and Albion swept upfield for Jerome Thomas to cut inside and score with a low, firm drive.

Chris Brunt’s effort which then followed nine minutes later was the pick of the day and Albion at their best, from Gonzalo Jara’s chest-control and volleyed pass out to the left, through the inch-perfect pass over the top by Graham Dorrans on to Brunt’s control, skip round Dean Gerken and accomplished finish. Wonderful stuff.

City were killed by Albion’s sweeping start to the second half as Simon Cox drew an own goal out of Carey in the 46th minute before the forward produced a smart, side-foot volley at the end of Thomas’s probing through ball. Four up in less than 50 minutes – it was devastating but left the game nowhere to go.

Albion could have had plenty more but occasionally indulged themselves a little too much and got into trouble accordingly. So Di Matteo will probably welcome the little slap they took across the face from Hartley’s splendid late free-kick.

Even when opponents are being devoured, he will remind them, you can’t play with your food in the Championship. But it’s getting hard to believe there won’t be a promotion banquet come the end of this campaign.

By Martin Swain

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