West Brom v Stoke: Time will not wait for Albion - the recovery must start now
That shuddering sound you heard on Tuesday night was Albion dropping into the Championship relegation places.
It is hoped that particular hard reality has dawned on a few this week in the bid to escape this desperate malaise.
Indeed, you hope the rattling noise subsequently heard this week was the sound of Albion players being shaken from their slumber.
Boss Eric Ramsay, desperately searching for a first win in charge, acknowledged the "elephant in the room" of a relegation dogfight after the last time Albion played at The Hawthorns - the historically-bad 5-0 demolition from Norwich a week-and-a-half ago.
That seemed to have some sort of effect in the following game where the Baggies claimed a deserved late point with a bit of fight at Derby.
But last weekend's 3-0 capitulation at a limited Portsmouth side was every bit as bad as Norwich and fears of dropping from the second tier have not been so great since the turn of the millennium.
New boss Ramsay, appointed just over three weeks ago but already feeling the heat, needed to hit the ground running but things have spiralled. Defeats have been worse. Confusion has reigned when the head coach desired clarity.
