Albion are laying the foundations for another solid season in the Premier League.

A hard-fought victory over West Ham elevated them to eight points from as many matches.

That is more than enough to achieve safety if replicated over the course of the campaign.

And better than it seems, considering the severity of the fixtures they have faced.

Although the clean sheet against the Hammers was an overdue first of the season, Albion have emerged relatively unscathed from a series of examinations.

Not conceding more than twice in a match when you have been to Manchester City and Liverpool, as well as hosting Spurs and Manchester United, is a defensive record many others would happily take.

West Ham had scored 14 goals in a four-match unbeaten run, three against United, eight against Macclesfield in the Carabao Cup and three more at Everton prior to a 0-0 home draw with Chelsea, so shutting them out was no mean feat either.

The Argus: Manager Chris Hughton (above) said: "It feels like a big three points. It was certainly a difficult last 20 minutes to guide through, a little bit of riding our luck, but mostly good defending, a good, strong mentality to defend, and that's the only way you come away from this type of game with this type of result."

That reference to the feel of the result was connected to the six-game winless run in all competitions since beating United that preceded it.

Hughton said: "The pressure put on yourself is normal. You will do that every game because you want to try to get the best out of the team.

"As regards here, we have a realistic group of supporters that know we've had a tough start.

"Probably their feeling would be the same as ours. Up until this game we've done okay.

"But it's really taking the opportunities when you can. The pressure really comes from within yourself, whether you are doing well or not.

"I personally don't think this season will be any easier than last season. I know perhaps Cardiff haven't started so well but the three teams that have come up are all capable of winning games and two of them (Fulham and Wolves) have spent big money."

Although overall the competition is just aS fierce as last season, a clearer picture is emerging of the sides that will be fighting for survival.

It is difficult, even at this early stage, to see Cardiff or Huddersfield staying up.

Newcastle, Southampton and Fulham are also all realistic candidates for the drop.

The degree of risk facing Crystal Palace is dependent on Wilfried Zaha.

It is hard to see who else might go down. Not Burnley now they are free of that Europa League distraction and not Wolves, one of the best teams to be promoted from the Championship.

Not Bournemouth, who have too many goals in them, or Watford after their impressive start.

West Ham, despite slipping below Albion, have too muuch quality in their ranks.

Albion? The boundaries for them, dependent on a whole range of factors, are probably anywhere between ninth and 17th.

They definitely have a deeper squad than last season. Whether the starting X1 proves to be discernibly better will largely depend on the extent of the impact of the summer signings.

Hughton has continued to rely, up to now, on the nucleus of last season's team.

The Argus: Injuries are biting more and, as the campaign progresses, we are likely to see more of Alireza Jahanbakhsh (above) and Florin Andone in particular than we have seen so far.

Relying too much on Glenn Murray for goals is a lingering concern.

There is also room for improvement in possession on the counter-attack. A desire to press and play with a bit more intensity has been hampered by imprecision when opportunities occur to break on the opposition.

Albion, the 2018-19 version, are still a work in progress but there are enough encouraging signs to believe they can steer clear of trouble.