Indeed, history supports his assumption. Beaten by the same margin on their last visit to The Hawthorns nearly two years ago, the Robins thereafter set about establishing a record of achievement which carried them all the way to the 2008 play-off final and to the brink of the Premier League itself.

Although the top flight must seem a million miles away right now, salvation is at hand in the guise of back-to-back home games against Sheffield United and Ipswich Town, two clubs experiencing unexpected difficulties.

Doing his best to put on a brave face, City’s manager admitted his team had come up woefully short against West Brom’s array of internationals and Premier League stars, while also offering hope for the future.

“We’ve suffered defeats like this in the past and recovered and we can definitely do it again,” declared Johnson, recalling a 6-0 hiding meted out by Ipswich at Portman Road almost two years ago to the day and that 4-1 Boxing Day defeat at The Hawthorns in 2007.

“No one likes to lose like this and the lads are hurting, because they know they didn’t do themselves justice. But the beauty of the Championship is that you don’t have to wait too long to put things right.

“We’ve lost just one game in eight and we have a chance to make amends in the next two home games. I’m sure the boys will be up for it.”

No amount of positive spin can disguise the facts and eight points now separate City and the new Championship leaders. Should Newcastle beat Preston North End tonight, the Robins will be 10 points in arrears of the Toon, a prodigious gap to close in a division as competitive as the English second tier.

Asked if he was prepared to write off his team’s prospects of challenging for automatic promotion, Johnson insisted: “You can never stop believing. Nothing is decided in November and we have to keep fighting and believing in what we are doing.”

Based on the evidence of this one-sided spectacle, City remain some distance short of being able to threaten the top two.

True enough, they saw off relegated Middlesbrough in fine style at Ashton Gate earlier in the season and earned a notable point at Newcastle, but their inability to reproduce that level of performance on a consistent basis surely renders the play-offs a more realistic goal.

What this debacle proved above all else is that, when Johnson’s charges drop below their optimum performance, they are vulnerable to the very best the Championship has to offer.

Just as it was at St James’ Park last month, the plan was to defend stoutly, frustrate the home side and then hope to cause Albion problems when the game opened up in the closing stages.

Sound tactics are one thing, putting them into practice quite another and the manager’s preparations were consigned to oblivion inside 12 calamitous minutes, during which the visitors contrived to make an already difficult task virtually impossible.

Too many City players appeared daunted by the occasion and apprehensive of opponents who had put five goals past Watford without reply in their last home game. High on confidence and adrenalin, Roberto Di Matteo’s team needed no second invitation to expose fragile defending and Jerome Thomas cut inside and skipped past a red-shirted rival with ridiculous ease before scoring with a rasping 20-yard drive which fairly flew between Dean Gerken and the goalkeeper’s right-hand post.

Three minutes gone and City were in disarray, an impression confirmed when a hesitant defence failed to deal with a lofted 40-yard pass from

Graham Dorrans and allowed

Northern Ireland international Chris Brunt to skip through unopposed, round Gerken and side-foot a second goal.

Thereafter, the next goal was always going to prove decisive. Needing desperately to score it, City instead imploded and conceded again, just 43 seconds after the interval, red-shirted defenders failing to read Luke Moore’s slide-rule pass and allowing Simon Cox to have a shot which Louis Carey could only divert into the net.

Again, the visitors were unable to recover quickly from a setback and the former Swindon Town striker nipped in to claim his second goal in three minutes, reacting first to a left-wing cross from the impressive Dorrans to again leave Gerken stranded.

Had it not been for their keeper – Gerken later pulled off outstanding saves from Brunt, Cox and Moore to keep the score down – City might well have disappeared beneath an avalanche.

If there was one ray of sunshine to extract from a rain-sodden and thoroughly miserable afternoon in the West Midlands, it was the number of goalscoring chances created by the visitors.

Indeed, had Gianni Zuiverloon not been on hand to clear Cole Skuse’s second-minute shot off the line, a very different contest might have ensued. City had further chances to put themselves back in contention at 2-0 down, Marvin Elliott and Jamie McCombe failing to beat Scott Carson with close-range headers and Paul Hartley sending a curling free-kick inches wide of the target.

Dangerous from set-plays and always on hand to receive a pass and keep his team going forward, Hartley was one of very few City players to emerge with any credit.

It was fitting that he should restore a modicum of pride seven minutes from time, drilling a sweetly-struck free-kick past England wannabe Carson and into the top right-hand corner of the net to at least give City’s magnificent travelling support something to cheer on an otherwise forgettable day.