Gary Johnson was left to rue Bristol City's failures at both ends of the pitch as they went down 4-1 at high-flying West Brom.

Strikes from Jerome Thomas and Chris Brunt inside the opening 12 minutes were followed up by a Louis Carey own goal and a Simon Cox effort shortly after the interval as Albion moved a point clear of Newcastle at the top of the table.

Paul Hartley grabbed a deserved late consolation for the Robins who, despite the scoreline, enjoyed their fair share of possession and remained very much in the game until the third went in.

But Johnson said: "You can't give a team like West Brom a two goal start and then give them another two goals just after half-time which killed us.

"We are very disappointed but we are not totally distraught after coming up against a very good side who are strong at home. We had a little bit of the play but didn't take our chances. At 2-0 you know the next goal is vital and they got it.

"After a result like this you slaughter the players first because that is how you feel because we did defend poorly and didn't create enough opportunities. We have lost our seven-game unbeaten record and we will now have to rally the troops for the two home games that are coming up."