CHAMPAGNE? Keep it in the fridge. Just for now.

It might not be time for the cigars yet but if you know anybody heading to Cuba, now might be the time to get your order in.

Kids - this is, of course, not advisable or good for your health. So it’s just as well Albion are posing few problems to the well-being of their supporters.

The Baggies are close. Roy Hodgson reckons three more points will be enough.

But they might already be there. When considering the permutations, one must take into account that the bottom few clubs will need three more wins than Albion to overhaul their current total.

That will take some doing in the final six games of the season, not least as some of those bottom sides still have to play each other.

And it would take some dramatic collapse on Albion’s part for them not to claim a few more points between now and the end of the season.

The Baggies have taken 12 points from six games during Hodgson’s reign, claiming their fourth away win in the Premier League this season.

Hodgson’s impact record is remarkable given how badly Albion were struggling.

He has taken a back five - the fifth being the goalkeeper - and changed four of the constants. Nicky Shorey, Steven Reid, Abou Meite and Scott Carson were on the outside watching before Hodgson arrived. Or, in Meite’s case, spending Saturday afternoons shopping around the Mailbox.

And at the heart of that backline is Jonas Olsson, a player whose points-per-game ratio is truly impressive. When he was injured, Albion took just seven points from a possible 33 in the 11 games he missed. When fit and playing they’ve taken seven wins, eight draws and lost just three times - accumulating, on average, more than two points per game.

The Baggies struggle to function defensively without him. With him they are strong, resolute and disciplined.

Elsewhere, Reid and Shorey weathered an early storm on Saturday.

Shorey was unfortunate. He tried to defend a cross from Ahmed Elmohamady, but headed it past Carson. It was unlucky. Yet he improved. Impressive, cool, calm. Both he and Reid know how to react to adversity. What Hodgson has effectively done is replace Gonzalo Jara, Gab Tamas, Marek Cech and Boaz Myhill with players of similar or better quality, but perhaps more experience.