Roy Hodgson was relieved to see his side finally win three points at The Hawthorns after demolishing Sunderland 4-0.
The Baggies continued where they had left off at Molineux taking only three minutes to open the scoring when Peter Odemwingie headed home Youssouf Mulumbu’s drilled cross.
The lead was doubled after sustained Albion pressure when James Morrison headed home at the back post in the 41st minute.
Odemwingie’s deflected second effectively ended the game three minutes into the second half, before Keith Andrews marked his full home debut with a fourth in stoppage time.
The victory moved Albion up to 12th in the Premier League and on to 32 points – 11 points above the drop zone.
But it was the manner of the victory which pleased the Baggies boss after a frustrating winless run at B71.
“With Chelsea coming up next week, perhaps it is just as well we won this one,” said Hodgson.
"We were concerned about it because Sunderland are the in-form team at the moment.
"We knew we were up against it but, luckily, we started well and got that early goal which eases the tension.
"The second goal was of great importance.
"It was a really good goal - well set up and a good finish.
"The fans were very good throughout the game and we were able to win resoundingly in the end.
"But that was largely due to the fact that Martin O'Neill, with his side 2-0 down, had to throw caution to the wind and play a very, very offensive system, which left them a little open on the counter-attack and gave us the chance to add two more goals.
"Luckily, we defended solidly and I thought we used the ball quite well when we did break out.
"We got a little bit casual at 3-0 and 4-0 but it depends how much of a perfectionist you want to be!
"Having watched some of the games where we've lost 1-2, I should be quite happy they get a bit casual from time to time!"
Albion’s first win at home in the league since mid-November may well be enough for Albion, Hodgson believes, to stop looking over their shoulder.
"Yes, I think we can see the finishing line for survival," he said.
"Eleven points - plus goal difference - is an awful lot of points.
"There are 12 games left to play and all the teams at the bottom haven't got a point a game.
"We're 11 points ahead so they'd better start getting more than a point a game otherwise they won't reach us."
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Source: FOOTYMAD
