Instead it turned out to be the summit of his achievements as Baggies boss and the start of a descent back towards the footballing wilderness.

And apart from the final few weeks of that climb to Premiership safety, Robson’s time in charge at The Hawthorns was defined by struggle and missed opportunities.

He arrived in November 2004 after the final breakdown of relations between Jeremy Peace and Gary Megson.

Megson’s departure came at a time when Albion were struggling to readjust to life in the Premiership.

They had managed just one win from the first 12 games of the season under Megson and caretaker manager Frank Burrows.

Despite that unconvincing start they were still outside the relegation zone.

But Robson’s first weeks in charge saw them slump deeper into peril as a shaky start developed into full-blown crisis.

There was no honeymoon period for the new manager, no time to settle.

And his first game in charge provided what turned out to be an eery indication of the troubles he would experience throughout his time in the hotseat.

Playing Middlesbrough at The Hawthorns Albion produced a performance that offered much promise.

With just seconds to go they were 2-1 down when the ball was rolled across the goalline to Kanu who had the simplest of opportunities to earn a creditable point for the new manager.

But somehow, to the disbelieft of everyone inside The Hawthorns, the Nigerian skied his effort over the bar.

It was a missed chance of epic proportions which set the tone for what was to come over the next 22 months.

A draw a week later at Arsenal suggested Robson was getting to grips with his task but from then on the Baggies spiralled into an alarming decline that culminated with heavy defeats against Blues and Liverpool in December.

By the time a disconsolate lbion trugded off the pitch at St Andrews fans were already questioning whether Robson was the man to lead them to Premiership survival.

But during the coming weeks he managed to silence their doubts by instigating a bit-by-bit improvement which set up the most dramatic survival battle in Premiership history.

The arrivals of his first signings in January injected fresh impetus into a struggling team.

Kevin Campbell and Kieran Richardson both played key roles in the run-in.

A first victory for Robson arrived in January 2005 when Manchester City were convincingly dispatched at The Hawthorns.

There were more disapppointments along the way – in particular against fellow strugglers Crystal Palace and Norwich when winning positions were surrendered at the death – but Albion continued to hang in there.

And their campaign gathered genuine momentum with an emphatic away win at Charlton followed by home victory to Everton.

Eventually it came down to the last day when the Baggies were one of four teams battling for the final place above the safety line.

In typically dramatic fashion the season swung on the final few mintues of action as one by one Norwich, Southampton and finally Crystal Palace fell by the wayside, leaving Albion as last man standing.

The Great Escape was complete and Robson was drenched in champagne in front of a delirious Hawthorns.

After that came justifiably bold, confident talk of building on their reprieve.

Surely a team which secured such a dramatic survival would not make the same mistakes twice.

Robson added to his squad in the summer but already frustrations were emerging at the lack of financial muscle he was able to wield in the transfer market.

It was questionable whether any of the signings he made during summer 2005 were any better than the ones his predecessor Megson secured 12 months earlier.

For a while though it looked as though he might guiding Albion in the right direction.

Wins against Arsenal and Everton were the highlights of an opening four months which saw the Baggies battle gamely to establish themselves outside the teams struggling at the bottom.

An away win against Wigan in January suggested they could be on course to enjoy a far smoother passage to survival.

But just one more victory followed, against Blackburn in February, as the Baggies became locked in a nosedive towards relegation.

That final win was followed by total captulation at Fulham where Albion lost 6-1.

From that moment on the Baggies simply could not reproduce their battling feat of a year earlier.

Despite Robson’s insistance that his squad was now stronger than a year earlier there was little evidence on the pitch to support that claim.

Defeat after defeat followed.

And the missed opportunities racked up in alarming fashion. Victories could and should have been achieved at St Andrews and Villa Park, but continually the Baggies’ undid themselves with poor finishing in front of goal.

Robson repeatedly claimed his team were on the end of poor refereeing decisions at crucial moments.

But those protestations wore ever more thin as they fell closer and closer to the Chamionship trap door.

Their fate was eventually sealed with an inexplicably lifeless performance at Newcastle.

Despite relegation though Robson’s achievement of 12 months earlier saw him just about still in credit as the club’s hierarchy met to pick over the bones of the club’s failure and map out a plan for the future.

That earned him the chance to repair the damage of last season by guiding them back to the Premiership.

Albion were installed as promotion favourites and an opening day victory against Hull, although far from convincing, saw them get off to the right start.

Away from home the Baggies were far from convincing, clinging on against Cardiff and Southampton before capitulating to Sunderland and Preston.

Home form was their saving grace but Saturday’s draw against Southend continued their descent into mid-table.

That result was greeted with an outpouring of discontent from sections of the home support who called for Robson to be sacked.

Today, after 22 months of toil and trouble, they have their wish.

Andy Toft is the Express & Star’s video journalist. Until recently, he was the paper’s West Bromwich Albion reporter