Analysis: West Brom's winless run is over but there's still plenty of work to do

The FA Cup is not the priority this season, that much is clear. But a comfortable 2-0 victory over a League Two side may just be the kick-starter this Albion side so desperately need.

The 21-game club-record winless streak is over. The monkey is off the back.

What's more, there were confidence-boosting goals for both strikers. Salomon Rondon now has two goals in his last four games, Jay Rodriguez has two in his last three.

Alan Pardew will still want to boost his attacking options this month, but it would be helpful if a new signing had some rejuvenated competition to ease his arrival rather than the weight of a whole club immediately resting on his shoulders.

The Baggies were helped by a wide-eyed Exeter City side, who gave their Premier League counterparts too much respect and made too many mistakes.

Two poor clearances led to the goals, and then top scorer Jayden Stockley missed an open goal from two yards out.

That came just two minutes after Albion's own farcical penalty miss, which was an unwelcome black mark on what was otherwise a positive day.

Having scored a spot-kick against Arsenal, Jay Rodriguez should have been the man to take it, but Salomon Rondon tried to wrestle the ball off him before the pair bizarrely agreed to compromise and let Hal Robson-Kanu step up.

Exeter keeper Christy Pym practically picked up his tame effort, and as Pardew pointed out, mistakes like that and Ben Foster's fumble moments later would have definitely been punished in the Premier League.

So it would be wise not to get too carried away. It may have been another clean sheet, Pardew's fourth in nine games, and it may have been a professional performance. But it was hardly faultless.

Gareth McAuley's return to the side, however, was. McAuley could soon be bumped up the pecking order, if Arsenal or Manchester City's enquiries about Jonny Evans over the weekend are firmed up with proper bids for proper money.

But again, the 38-year-old needs to be tested against Premier League opposition. All we learned on Saturday was that McAuley will be able drop down the leagues with ease when he eventually does decide to wind down.

Grzegorz Krychowiak started his second game in a row, and Pardew was teasing afterwards, admitting he had made his mind up over whether he wanted to keep the Polish midfielder beyond January but refusing to divulge whether he did or not.

Considering his past two performances, the Paris Saint-Germain man is likely to stay.

The FA Cup is a competition that has helped define Pardew's footballing career.

He's been to the final three times, once as a player and twice as a manager.

So perhaps it was fitting that his first victory as Albion boss was in this famous competition.

As he said himself though, the important thing is that it is transferred into the league.

At times during this slump it has felt like the only way the Baggies were going to win was against a fourth-tier team with injuries in defence.

They were given an open goal on Saturday, and took it gleefully.

Exeter may have rallied late on, but the result was never in doubt, and perhaps the lack of jitters bodes well.

Because, unfortunately, and due to their current plight, next weekend's match against Brighton is far more important.