Robins proved right as the goals flowed

Divin Mubama clutched the match ball to his chest like a Christmas present in the five o'clock darkness that signals the arrival of the meaty part of the Championship season.

To stick with the festive theme, November began with fireworks at the Bet365 Stadium as his hat-trick, a brilliant solo effort from Junior Tchamadeu, and another for Million Manhoef fulfilled a prophecy that manager Mark Robins has repeated several times over the past few weeks.

Stoke haven't been scoring enough, they haven't been efficient enough in front of goal, and their brilliant start to the season has been characterised by hard-fought wins. Until now.

Robins said someone would be on the wrong end of a big score before long - and he was proven emphatically right.

When Stoke went through the gears and hit top speed, Bristol City couldn't live with them. The visitors were poor, but were made to look abject.

Mubama scored three strikers' goals; close-range finishes, pouncing on a mixture of defensive errors and great service, to more than double his goal tally for the season.

He's a young man and understandably looked relieved, delighted and full of belief again.

His team-mates set a new standard in this game. We know they're defensively solid, but, if they can match the tempo, quality and efficiency of this performance consistently, there are no limits on what they can achieve between now and May.