A day of unmitigated triumph for Birmingham City. Not only did Preston North End and Cardiff City’s stumbles enable Birmingham to reach the Championship’s summit for the first time this season, but Steve Bruce’s men did so via their most emphatic victory since January and against opponents more feisty than the scoreline suggests.

If conceding four midweek goals to Southampton and losing for the first time in eight Championship encounters upset City on the field, off it co-owner David Sullivan launched a lengthy tirade against City’s long-suffering fanbase, claiming St Andrews was “the quietest ground in the country”.

Yesterday, until City’s football reaped its natural reward, renditions of Jerusalem and Land Of Hope And Glory attempted to rouse the faithful, but before kick off the noise from the 2000-plus who had made the 200-mile trek from Devon rang louder still.

With Martin Taylor the chief victim of the St Mary’s debacle, Matthew Upson made his first start since February. However, if the England man was expecting a gentle return to the frontline, both managers agreed Plymouth were the better team until City’s first goal and only Maik Taylor’s flying save from Paul Wotton’s drive prevented the visitors from sweeping ahead.

And yet, this was going to be a first half that will live long and unpleasantly in Argyle hearts. When Birmingham flexed their muscles for the first time, they scored an exquisite goal fashioned on Arsenal’s London Colney training pitch. One Emirates loanee, Sebastian Larsson, clipped a teasing ball into the heart of Argyle’s defence. There, a second Arsenal man, Nicklas Bendtner, gathered, shuffled around Gary Sawyer and then Luke McCormick, before tapping home.

Another 10 minutes, another, more perfunctory goal. Gary McSheffrey’s corner was headed towards goal by Stephen Clemence. Tony Capaldi cleared off the line, but only as far as Upson, who bundled in from a yard.

Argyle were not wholly cowed until City’s third. Bendtner and Larsson again combined before the Swede crossed low to the back post where McSheffrey fired past McCormick.

Plymouth’s humiliation was almost further compounded on the cusp of half-time when Matt Doumbe stumbled and Bendtner hurtled towards goal, only for his drive to be clutched by the alert McCormick.

Plymouth reshuffled their personnel, if not their formation, for the second half, but City, most notably their Arsenal duo, were in impish mood. Soon, only a fortuitous David Norris deflection prevented Bendtner’s second. From McSheffrey’s resulting corner, Radhi Jaidi’s header beat McCormick, but Capaldi made his second goalline clearance of the afternoon and Argyle began to yearn only for the familiar terrain of the M5.

“I felt like I’d been hit left, right and centre,” sighed Argyle manager Ian Holloway. “If it was decided on points the referee would have stopped it.”

In fact, Argyle soon gave every impression of having already boarded the bus home. McCormick was abandoned by his defence to perform heroics against McSheffrey and Bendtner, while in the 76th minute only Larsson will know how he managed to shoot wide with only the goalkeeper to beat after a final moment of magic from Bendtner, who immediately departed to near-universal encomium.

After that, Birmingham cruised towards three points. Cruelly rubbing salt into already festering wounds, chances still fell to Argyle, at short range to Cherno Samba and from further out to Wotton, but Maik Taylor was equal to both. The Premiership is beginning to call City home. “We’ve made great strides since August,” noted Bruce ominously. “From here, we’ll only get better.”

Star Man: Nicklas Bendtner (Birmingham City)

Player Ratings: Birmingham City: Maik Taylor 6, Kelly 6, Jaidi 6, Upson 6, Sadler 6, Larsson 7, Nafti 6, Clemence 6 (Danns 82min, 5), McSheffrey 7, Bendtner 8 (Campbell 76min, 5), Jerome 6

Plymouth Argyle: McCormick 7, Doumbe 5, Seip 5, Sawyer 6 (Nalis 61min, 5), Capaldi 7, Norris 7, Summerfield 5, Wotton 6, Djordic 6 (Aljofree 45min, 5), Buzsaky 4 (Samba 45min, 5), Hayles 6

Scorers: Birmingham: Bendtner 21, Upson 30, McSheffrey 41

Referee: R Beeby

Attendance: 22,592