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Brunt calls on squad to ‘kick-on’

Chris Brunt has called for his team-mates to ‘kick-on’ and home in on the Sky Bet Championship automatic-promotion berths.

The Baggies are three points shy of Sheffield United, who currently sit second in the table, with 19 games remaining. 

And Brunt, who is with the rest of the Albion squad at a warm-weather training camp in Dubai, says their full focus is on Monday’s trip to Bolton Wanderers. 

“I think we’re in a decent position. You can obviously look back and think we might have done a bit better in a few games, but on the whole, this is a tough league and it’s a tough one to get out of. 

“It’s tough to stay in and around the top and we’ve done that pretty comfortably so far. It’s up to us now to try and get that little bit extra and kick on.

“We need to make sure we’re fighting for the top two automatic places rather than the play-offs.

“It’s been tough obviously but we’ve got more than enough in the squad - from what we’ve seen so far the games we can compete and do well at this level. We can be right up there.  

“There are a few games that maybe have got away from us this year that we’re disappointed with. The last one at home to Norwich, I think everybody said we were the better side for the majority of the game. We were disappointed not to come away with three points but that can happen in this league and it’s about how we bounce back. 

“This week we’re here to work for Monday night and it’s important we put that right against Bolton.  

The Club stalwart, who is now just two games short of the 400-mark for the Baggies, says he is continuing to learn from Darren Moore and his coaching staff.

“I feel like I’ve learnt a lot this season - from the gather and from Graeme Jones, who has come in from different experiences, working with Belgium at the World Cup, working with some of the best players in the world. 

“He’s come in here and he’s trying to get those ideas across with ourselves. 

“It’s been good and the older you get the more try to take something from every training session. There’s a lot of younger lads on this trip and if you can give something back to them by helping them then that’s a big part of your role. 

He added: “We’ve got three or four senior lads who are more than happy to speak to the coaching staff. To be fair, the manager is an honest guy, and he will tell you what he’s thinking. 

“If you ask you can go and have a chat with him about bits and pieces and he’s pretty good with it, as are all the coaching staff. 

“We’ve got a decent group of people working at the club and they’re all trying to pull in the same direction.” 

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