Glenn Hoddle was a relieved man after Gus Poyet's late strike sealed victory for Tottenham despite a valiant battle by West Brom.
The visitors had the majority of possession in the first half but somehow found themselves trailing 2-0 at the break thanks to goals from Christian Ziege and Robbie Keane.
But any visions the home side had of coasting to a comfortable win disappeared when Scott Dobie halved the deficit with a fine strike 17 minutes from the end.
However the visitors were left empty-handed when Poyet popped up in the 80th minute to stab the ball home following a goalmouth scramble.
It was harsh on the visitors who had responded well after falling behind as early as the third minute. Derek McInnes fouled Teddy Sheringham on the edge of the area and Ziege curled the free-kick around the wall and past an unsighted Russell Hoult.
It must have come as a shock to the Baggies but it seemed to inspire them as they created a hatful of chances in an attempt to pull level.
In the 11th minute Jason Roberts rounded Kasey Keller but could not find the net from a tight angle and then Neil Clement wasted a glorious opportunity when he put Igor Balis' cross wide from just six yards.
The visitors kept on pushing forward with the impressive Jason Koumas setting up Lee Hughes for a shot which was well saved by Keller and then Koumas himself was denied by the American keeper.
Spurs made West Brom pay for their profligacy in front of goal when Keane doubled their lead in the 29th minute. The striker raced onto a Sheringham throughball and, with the West Brom defence still appealing for offside, he lifted the ball over Hoult.
That was harsh on West Brom but it could have been worse on the stroke of half time when Keane burst through again only for Hoult to somehow deflect the ball over the bar.
The Baggies remained on top in the second half and thought they had been hard done by in the 67th minute when substitute Scott Dobie raced clear only to be brought down outside the area by Keller.
The visitors were furious the Spurs keeper was only shown a yellow card and Keller rubbed salt in the wounds by saving the resulting free-kick from Koumas.
However, six minutes later the Baggies were back in the game. Dobie picked up a ball 20 yards out and with the Spurs defence backing off drilled a low shot that fizzed past Keller and inside the far post.
They should have been level five minutes later when Clement put a free header wide from Sean Gregan's corner and Poyet then taught them a lesson in how to finish.
He was in the right place at the right time to poke home the loose ball after Steffen Iversen's initial shot had been saved by Hoult.