Matt Maher: Tight Championship margins no place for snap judgements

England’s second tier has never been the place for snap judgements.

Heading out of the international break, there was a sense Cesar Peixoto was building some real momentum at Wolves.

Two bad results and some rough injury news concerning Raul Jimenez later, the narrative had switched to the Portuguese being under renewed scrutiny. By 10pm on Friday night the mood had shifted again.

For James Morrison and Albion, six minutes was all it took to switch.

After 78 minutes at Wrexham on Tuesday night, the Baggies were heading toward a third straight defeat without scoring.

After 84, they were on course for a third win in five away matches this season and up to fourth in the table.

Morrison later took a playful swipe at those who had suggested his side were in a “slump” and his point was understandable.

Any malaise was accentuated by the extended, three-week halt either side of those admittedly disappointing derby defeats to Wolves and Blues. It meant there were almost five weeks - yet only three matches - between last month’s win at Derby and Tuesday’s victory in north Wales.

Morrison was also right to highlight the often painfully thin margins between success and failure. Of Albion’s 10 league matches so far, six have been decided by a one-goal margin and another two were draws. Across a 46-match campaign, bad spells are inevitable and the teams which fare best are those which hold their nerve and maintain a sense of perspective.

Peixoto’s margin for error has always been tighter as he operates under greater expectation, at a club where promotion will be the only acceptable outcome next May. Pressure will always be swifter to mount.

But in the larger sense, this season remains in its infancy. Nothing is anywhere close to being won, or lost, yet.