Cardiff City fans may have felt last night's game couldn't possibly be worse than their 5-1 defeat on Saturday but it is hard to find any positives to take out of last night's hammering against West Bromwich Albion. 

Valerien Ismael's side regained their place at the top of the Championship by putting four past the Bluebirds in the Welsh capital.

Karlan Grant's goal after five minutes was a sign of what was to come for the Bluebirds, who have slipped to 16th after their fourth consecutive defeat.

Before the focus shifts to the weekend's game against Reading, here are three things we clearly learnt from last night's hammering...

The Bluebirds previous strength has become their weakness

Early on in McCarthy's reign, Cardiff's defensive structure made them really difficult to break down and was a key part of their impressive finish to the last season and start to this one.

Things have come unstuck in recent weeks, however, and as we saw last night what was once their strength has now become their weakness.

Despite crowbarring five central defenders into a back five yesterday, the Bluebirds looked a real mess defensively and slumped to a 4-0 defeat.

That means they've now conceded nine times in two games across a three-day period, which has to be a huge concern.

The fans have run out of patience with Mick McCarthy

Their patience was already wearing very thin but the frustration among the Cardiff City Stadium faithful was impossible to ignore last night.

Boos rung out at halftime, while it is understood that some Bluebirds supporters even joined in when the away fans launched into a rendition of "You're getting sacked in the morning".

McCarthy said he understood the disappointment among supporters after the game but it did seem as though he might've run out of slack as far as many of them are concerned.

Ryan Giles return from injury hasn't had the desired effect

The Wolves loanee was so important to Cardiff's early-season form, providing four assists in his first four games for the club and helping them to take eight points from a possible 12.

An injury kept him out through the start of September and though he provided another assist from the bench on the weekend, his return to the starting XI did not have the desired effect last night.

Giles was tasked with playing alongside James Collins in a front two and struggled to make too much of an impact – understandable given he was up against three physical central defenders.

Many supporters will have been hoping that his return to fitness would turn Cardiff's fortunes around but so far that has not been the case.