West Bromwich Albion regained pole position in the Championship with a two nil victory over bottom side Stoke City in the Bet365 Stadium this Monday evening. The return to fitness of some senior defenders has seen Ireland U21 centre back Dara O’Shea lose his matchday squad position with the ‘Baggies’ and he may seek another loan move in the January window similar to his successful stint with Exeter City last season. Stoke have had a dreadful start to their season resulting in their manager Nathan Jones being dismissed last week. Their three man coaching team led by Rory Delap took charge of this evening’s contest. The hosts included Stephen Ward in their starting eleven with James McClean introduced from the bench on 61 minutes while Nathan Collins was an unused substitute. There was a very late withdrawal for Aston Villa loanee Scott Hogan who sustained an ankle injury during the warm-up.