In a desperate West Brom season of relegation torment there could yet be off-field battles to win

Albion supporters have been put through the wringer time and again. It has been shameful, no question, comfortably the worst in a generation.

A happy enough ending is still possible. The weekend’s Championship action saw the Baggies see their deficit to the drop zone sliced from five points to two. And that is Albion in resurgent form and unbeaten in seven under would-be saviour James Morrison.

It was clear there would be many twists and turns left in this battle to avoid the third tier for the first time in more than three decades.

But even the most pessimistic supporter did not envisage Albion’s Championship status coming down to a potential battle against points deductions in the courtroom.

Monday’s emergence of an alleged breach of the EFL’s profit and sustainability regulations came like a dagger to Baggies fans.

After all supporters have endured this season - two hapless head coach appointments resulting in a slow and painful lurch towards the unthinkable - many would be unable to take any more punishment.

The prospect of the Championship season finishing at Sheffield Wednesday on May 2 and Albion still being unaware of their league status will be too much for some to take.

But that is the reality of the sizeable mess that could lay ahead in the next month or so.

Many are understandably left wondering how the club, given they have sold a host of key players including homegrown talents in a bid to satisfy the accounts, has got itself here.

Indeed, it may not come down to Morrison’s tactics, motivation and team selection - Championship survival could come down to club lawyers and legal wranglings in a court.

There is more than one side to the story, of course, and Albion declared their innocence a few hours after the breaking story emerged.

A Baggies statement did not deny the charge, but vowed the club believed it had remained compliant with the restrictive PSR laws.

The rules - in their simplest definition to not exceed more than £39million losses in three years - are exactly what Albion owners Bilkul, led by Shilen Patel, have been battling to stay the right side of for more than two years.

Albion’s hierarchy have worked closely with the EFL to ensure things remain above board.

The club’s dealings had been monitored to ensure moves were reasonable. This is relatively standard practice upon a takeover.

Andrew Nestor, the former sporting director and club president, described in a statement before Christmas just how challenging profit and sustainability laws had been to navigate.

It has previously been said the powers that be did not want a potential points deduction to damage the prospect of a play-off finish. If only.

Never, before this season, was it quite believed it could be different between Championship and League One.

In the autumn the club appointed John Pelling, formerly of Stoke and Nottingham Forest among others, on a part-time basis to help sail through the choppy waters of PSR. Pelling has worked quietly, in the background, to get Albion to where they felt they needed to be upon the accounts submission by December 31 and thereafter.

Albion’s confidence in their stance will ease fears among some supporters but a frightful nagging feeling will not leave most until this ordeal is satisfied.

Albion have a long way to go on the field under Morrison. They are two points clear but that can change with four fixtures left. A win is needed sharpish, ideally in the next two games.

But this compliance breach millstone will continue to hang until potentially after the full-time whistle at Hillsborough early next month.

The news comes as yet another desperate punch in the gut in the most miserable of seasons where failings have continued throughout.

Albion must now win on and off the field to ensure safety.