Roy Hodgson takes his turn at cracking the Stoke hoodoo tonight admitting: ‘Sooner or later, a lucky jacket lets you down’.

Albion’s head coach takes charge of his first away game at a critical point after the Baggies fell into the bottom three for the first time since the opening day of the season, when they were thumped 6-0 by Chelsea.

They must try to find a way out of their slump at the Britannia Stadium in defiance of an extraordinary sequence of misery against their Staffordshire neighbours.

The Baggies have beaten the Potters just once in their previous 26 league meetings, a dismal run of grim luck which includes a staggering 18 defeats.

Albion’s travelling contingent make the short trip hoping the omens will for once run their way, but Hodgson won’t be doing anything differently.

“I’m not superstitious about stats like that — I think they represent an opportunity” he said. “It’s up to us to take it.

“I’m not deep-down superstitious but if you ask me whether I’ve been in a situation where I’ve worn the same jacket or tie to matches, I’d have to say that I have!

“If you’ve won a few games wearing the same jacket you may as well carry on.  But those lucky jackets let you down eventually.

“The only way to break the run is by playing well, defending well, posing them problems when you’ve got the ball and fighting to the finish. That is what we must do.”

The clash, however, is a signpost moment for Roberto Di Matteo’s replacement, recruited to stabilise Albion’s shaken defence and find a path to safety.

And the clock is now ticking with first Wolves and then West Ham winning over the weekend.

Those results have the new head coach waging a battle for the players’ minds as well as preparing them for one of most physical games on the Premier League circuit.

Hodgson added: “If someone says ‘you do realise you haven’t won there for the last goodness knows how long?’ I see it as a chance to put it right.

“My take on it is ‘we’ve got nothing to lose, everyone expects us to return empty-handed, so let’s go out there and prove them wrong’.”