Albion 4, Swansea City 1

Albion are demonstrating they can deal with the high-pressured environment of the Premier League relegation battle.

The last four matches, away to Southampton and Stoke and at home to West Ham and Swansea, were billed as vital against sides also involved in the fight.

They have emerged from them unbeaten, with eight points and nine goals.

They have also now scored more goals than Burnley and half of the teams below them in the table, accompanied by the best defensive record outside the top seven.

It helps when the heat is on to have unruffled leadership, calmness and consistency.

The contrast between Chris Hughton and Swansea counterpart Carlos Carvalhal in the latest 'six-pointer' for the Seagulls was stark.

The momentum remains with Hughton after their six meetings in the Championship when Carvalhal was in charge of Sheffield Wednesday.

He has now won the last three following the injury-ravaged misfortune of the play-offs two seasons ago.

Carvalhal has revitalised Swansea but he lost the plot as their ten-match undefeated run in all competitions came to an emphatic end.

In the space of half-an-hour either side of the interval, the Portugese used all three substitutions available to him and changed tactics.

The Argus: It felt like panic and it certainly backfired. Albion's lead provided by Glenn Murray's early penalty (above) was still tenuous when Carvalhal made his third and final change with a quarter of the contest still remaining.

The more attacking players he introduced the more vulnerable Swansea became. Albion raced out of sight with three goals in the last 21 minutes, including two in four minutes soon after Tammy Abraham, the Seagulls' early summer transfer target, became Carvalhal's last throw of the dice.

Carvalhal admitted afterwards he had been reckless. He said bringing on Abraham so early was a "high risk bet" and, with hindsight, he would have left it later.

It is hard to envisage Hughton being so damagingly impulsive. Some supporters still regard him as too cautious.

They were advocating ahead of the match a switch to 4-4-2 and a start for record signing Jurgen Locadia after his debut goal against Coventry in the FA Cup, apparently oblivious to the results and performances against Southampton, West Ham and Stoke.

Hughton's selection and tactics produced Albion's biggest victory in the Premier League and four goals in a game in the top flight for the first time since October 1981, when Manchester City were put to the sword at The Goldstone.

Anthony Knockaert (below), who scored the third goal, said: "The gaffer said before the game we are going to have to be patient. We won't be able to break them straight away, it's all going to be about being patient and take the opportunity when we get it to break them. And that's what we did, we respected the plan and it worked."

The Argus: Swansea were obliging participants in turning what promised to be - and indeed proved to be for more than an hour - a nervy afternoon into a romp.

Their charity began when Mike van der Hoorn bundled Murray over from behind. The outcome was the same as at Southampton, Mike Dean pointing to the spot, Murray despatching the penalty.

Murray's determination to hold onto his talisman ranking after the signings of Locadia and Leo Ulloa in January shows no sign of relenting.

He had a second narrowly ruled out for offside and fired just wide before providing crucial breathing space from eight yards after Jose Izquierdo combined with Pascal Gross, Murray's seventh goal in his last nine appearances.

Profiting from the spaces once Carvalhal abandoned the security blanket of three central defenders, which has served Swansea so well during their resurgence, Albion kicked on.

Another well-worked move involving Murray, Pascal Gross and Knockaert was finished off by the Frenchman.

Swansea's late reply, an Abraham drive which Mathew Ryan had covered until it took a violent deflection off Lewis Dunk, was no more than an irritant.

The Argus: There was still time for Locadia (above), on for Murray, to mark his Premier League debut with his second goal in as many games from close range, converting a Dale Stephens shot after more incisive wing work by the in-form Izquierdo.

As ever there were moments that might have changed the result. Jordan Ayew struck a post for Swansea at the end of the first half, just after Shane Duffy headed against the bar at the other end.

Ryan also produced a pivotal save early in the second half from a shot by Ki Sung-yueng, Swansea's best player.

It was not Albion's most fluent performance of the season but the result is of considerable significance in the context of the survival aim.

Hughton said: "There's no doubt there is a huge benefit getting three pointers, particularly in this division. It's harder for us in the division but at the moment we are in good form and look more likely of that than probably any stage this season."

They are certainly in a good place right now to end their pointless record against the top six when Arsenal visit on Sunday.