PETER Grant has called on Albion's players to ease the burden on the strikers by chipping in with more goals.

The bottom-placed Baggies have only notched twice in the last six games - a run which has seen them slip eight points adrift of safety.

And Marc-Antoine Fortuné's double in February's 3-2 defeat by Newcastle was the last time an Albion forward scored.

But Grant insists it is not just up to the frontmen to put away the chances.

"Sometimes we've got to get more people in the box," said the first-team coach.

"James Morrison had a great chance at 1-0 on Saturday against Stoke when the ball dropped to him in the box.

"It was a fantastic chance and earlier in the season that probably would have gone in for James.

"I thought Marc-Antoine Fortuné led the line really well and worked hard for the team but sometimes he works too hard because he finds himself in areas where he's not a danger to the opposition.

"I can understand his frustration and I would love to play alongside him if I was a striker because of the work ethic he gives to the team.

"We're disappointed as a team that we're not scoring enough goals.

"I think the midfield have got to chip in more and the defenders at set-plays.

"We've got to have a bigger threat.

"But we've missed good chances at important times in games and it's come back to haunt us, because if you get a goal the team always tend to respond.

"If James Morrison had scored on Saturday we might have gone on to win the game, even though we hadn't started well, because it gives everyone a lift.

"The one thing we have that others don't is that we can manoeuvre the ball when we go in front.

"We've missed good chances at the wrong times and I don't just put that down to strikers.

"You have to look at the team as a whole and that's something we have to get better at as a team."

Grant has been impressed by Fortuné's work rate since his arrival on loan from Nancy in January.

And, although the French-Guyanan hitman is not renowned for his prolific scoring, believes he could have had more than his three goals with better service.

"From a football point of view, we've been very pleased with his all-round performance for the team," Grant added.

"We knew he wasn't a prolific goalscorer who was going to score 25 goals.

"But people who play alongside him usually get goals because of his unselfish running, which takes defenders away from good areas.

"Marco's done exceptionally well, we've very, very pleased with him, but now we're saying 'get into areas which hurt the opposition'.

"Having said that, sometimes strikers don't get the service.

"That's not Marco's fault.

"That's sometimes down to us going with an extra pass instead of being more forceful and not being frightened to give the ball away.

"It's about being more forceful with your first pass and looking to play forward quicker, as in playing the ball between two defenders, instead of going sideways.

"We say that to all the players.

"Sometimes, you've to be fair to strikers - are they getting the service they need to score goals?"

Grant insists the loss of Ishmael Miller to season-ending cruciate knee ligament damage at the beginning of December was also a major blow to the Baggies' attack.

The 22-year-old powerhouse was just beginning to find a groove in the top flight, with three goals in six games, before the injury against Portsmouth.

"At the time Ishmael got his injury, he was starting to find his feet in the Premier League," he said.

"In the two or three games prior to the injury he was starting to look like a Premier League player.

"If you look at the chances he had at Middlesbrough, he had three or four one-on-ones.

"I started to feel then that he was understanding what the Premier League was all about and he was feeling he should be part of that.

"Losing him was a massive blow for us because he is different to what we have, with his power and pace.

"And the opposition were worried about him.

"It's a great thing to have as a striker if the opposition are worried about you - and he was starting to prove that.

"Losing him was a massive blow and people tend to forget that.

"When you don't have a massive squad like a Manchester United, it can become very difficult when you lose big players.

"But others have to come in and respond to that."