Albion captain Scott Carson has claimed Saturday’s defeat to Crystal Palace could be a wake-up call for the team.

The Baggies surrendered their unbeaten start to the Championship campaign and top spot in the table with a tame loss to the Eagles at The Hawthorns.

But Roberto Di Matteo’s men remain second after a flying start to the season and skipper Carson reckons the 1-0 reverse could be a timely reminder of the demands of the Championship.

The goalkeeper said: “It could be a blessing in disguise, because it might give us the kick up the backside that we maybe needed.

“We let our foot off the gas and we were punished, so we have learned we can’t do it.

“There was a lot of hype about the 5-0 win and we gave a great performance at Middlesbrough, so everybody was saying ‘West Brom are going to win the league with no problems.’

“But the result on Saturday put it back into perspective . We’ve got to put it behind us now and move on. The unbeaten run was obviously going to end sometime, but we didn’t expect it to be on Saturday.

“We knew it would be a tough game but, like everyone else, we didn’t expect to lose it. They gave us a tough game but we never got going from the first whistle.

“When you let your foot of the gas in this league, you get what you deserve.”