West Brom boss Eric Ramsay keen to take positives from formation switch and solid Baggies rearguard

It was also a much-needed response to the desperate 3-0 defeat at Portsmouth last time out and the previous home game, the 5-0 drubbing by Norwich.

Albion were value for their point and went closer to breaking the deadlock than the mid-table Potters, though the better openings came in the first period. Ultimately a point was enough to lift Ramsay's relegation-battlers out of the second-tier's bottom three.

"Hugely," Ramsay replied when asked if he felt it was an improved display.

"And it was important that we improved in the way that we improved. We had to certainly look better from a defensive perspective. We had to look more front foot.

"We had to use the ball better and I think over the course of the game there were all those ingredients, minus the cutting edge, which is obviously really important.

"We had just about more of the ball. We gave very little away in front of goal and threatened around the top of the box without creating anything clean-cut. So there's lots to be pleased with there."

For the Baggies it was a first clean sheet in 11 games and just a sixth league clean sheet in 31 attempts this season.

It was a first under Ramsay - who remains winless in his five games at the helm - and, with a sense of irony, came via a formation of fewer defenders in the starting line-up.

Albion could not inspire enough in the final third to find a winner but it is in their own defensive third where the big struggle has been for much of the campaign under predecessor Ryan Mason.

"That was initially what we wanted to correct," Ramsay added. "It was reflected in how we set up over the course of the first four games.

"We wanted to be a team that was harder to beat, that conceded fewer goals - and we weren't able to stop that. Anything that we did over the course of the first four games seemed to play a huge role in that sense.

"We want to adapt. We want to try and find solutions and obviously, the changes tonight I think certainly helped and the players responded well. There were a lot of components to the performance that I think we'll look back on over the course of the two days and feel really positive about."

Ramsay made six changes for the clash, including first starts for some time for Jed Wallace, Daryl Dike and Alex Mowatt. Jameldeen Jimoh-Aloba caught the eye on his debut after the deadline day arrival from Villa.

The changes came with the switch in system and Ramsay added: "There are always trade-offs that you make with choices around systems and there was certainly more good than bad. The players responded well.

"I think it helped us connect with the crowd better in the opening stages of the game. I don't want to be a team that is passive, particularly at home. I want to be a team that can really ignite the crowd with moments like we felt in the opening stages of the game and use the ball well, show some real bravery and personality.

"I think now the squad is more balanced than the first two games, you would say, in the sense that we have the three midfield players available, which is just so important for us. I think you start to get a better feel of how it could look, assuming you've got the pieces available."