Eric Ramsay says he is being mindful of how best to utilise his squad when Albion visit Norwich in the FA Cup on Saturday (ko 3pm) - but insisted they want to “go there and win” the fourth-round clash.
The head coach gave an injury update during his pre-match press duties, where he revealed he will be without a number of players when his team arrive at Carrow Road this weekend.
However, he believes it’s an opportunity for some to “step up, put their hands in the air and say they want to be picked” while being respectful to the competition and the travelling Baggies fans.
“Nat Phillips had a concussion (against Birmingham), so we have to be mindful of those protocols and he won’t be available,” explained Eric.
“George Campbell is close but not there. Jed Wallace, we’re nursing him through a tricky period – he won’t make it.
“Jed’s issue is just the number of minutes he’s played in such quick succession, so he’s one of the obvious ones to be really careful with.
“Across the others, it will be a case of making intelligent decisions and trying to balance the respect we have for the competition with where we are as a squad at the moment.
“We want to win, we want to perform, and we want players to step up, put their hands in the air and say they want to be picked to generate a sense of depth in the squad, which has been hard to come by.
“It’s an opportunity for us to try and create some depth. There are no problems with how we’re lining up tomorrow; I feel good about how we look across the backline.
“The problems are with the depth and how we look as we move into a very busy period from next week onwards, so all the decisions will be made partly with that in mind.
“There are countless stories every year of players, particularly young players, who use this competition as a springboard into the first team, and we’ve, of course, got a couple of guys who have been around the squad, one or two who have been out on loan that are desperate for an opportunity.
“I’m also aware of how productive this club has been with young players over the years, and we want to make sure we contribute to that.
“There’s pressure in terms of taking another step forward performance-wise, pressure in terms of the players we end up picking to grow the sense of competitiveness within the squad.
“Obviously, I can’t pretend there’s the same pressure that was wrapped around the games against Stoke and Birmingham, but we want to go there and win, we want to respect the competition and the travelling supporters.
"If you’d been around the session and the meeting this morning, you would’ve got a real sense of a team that is desperate to win.”
