Ally Robertson: I was just delighted to see Magic Mikey Johnston make West Brom return

I wrote in a recent column that I hoped it was still a possibility. So I was just so chuffed.

It would have been great if he could have played for us against Swansea, but it wasn’t to be. He will be getting all the rest and preparation he needs ahead of when we start up at Portsmouth in 10 days or so.

We have wide players who really work in that area of the pitch now and it is so important in this division.

Not only does he have that electric quality and can win matches with his ability, he works his socks off for the side. He’s not just a winger who is there to be flashy.

I’m confident he can come in and have a similar impact to his loan. When I speak to fans now they are so excited – they tell me they can’t wait until after the break, until all the team is together!

We know too what Mason Holgate can do. The players in the side will have to keep performing to keep their place.

We’ve not been in that position for a long, long time, certainly under Carlos’s stewardship. That’s what I love about it now.

Saturday’s game was the best start I’ve seen from an Albion side in I don’t know how long – it was absolutely brilliant!

Straight away we went for Swansea and we didn’t stop for a good 20 minutes. The scoreline should have been out of sight. But when we didn’t score I was a bit worried. I thought it was a certainty that we had missed our chances and they would go and score their one chance. I should’ve had more faith!

I wanted us to go in ahead because we deserved it and thankfully we got that all-important opening goal – that turned out to be the game’s only goal – just in the nick of time with Jayson Molumby.

I thought we would probably bag another in the second half but, credit to Swansea, they came out a different side in the second half. They had changed a bit and improved and tested us. We still had a couple of chances to score that second through Tom Fellows and the substitute debutant Uros Racic, but it wasn’t to be.

Swansea looked a decent side in the second half, but we kept that clean sheet and were organised and those are the main things.

Before the start of the season if somebody would’ve set that we would be second in the table after four games and unbeaten we would probably have said ‘don’t be daft!’

To do what we have done is a brilliant start. You look at our squad now, the new players coming in from the deadline and earlier in the window, we’ve got real options. Last season I remember having four or five kids on the bench. Now we have really good options on the bench and the gaffer has great competition.

We haven’t seen many of the new signings start yet, only Heggem. Carlos likes to change things around the hour and there is real intrigue about who he brings on and a confidence the replacements can be as good.

Players will be fighting for their place because of this. It’s really important. Racic in midfield from the bench looked like a really good option.

The two-week international break now will be so important for us to build under the manager – even though you never want a break when you’re playing well!