Albion winger Jerome Thomas has set the team a six-point Christmas target with the challenge for the Baggies to stamp their mark back on the Championship.

Saturday’s postponement at Blackpool allowed Nottingham Forest to draw level on points with second-placed Albion.

Thomas, who also revealed he was set to miss the Blackpool game with a recurrence of his hamstring trouble, believes now is the time for the Baggies to re-assert their authority, with festive matches against Peterborough and Scunthorpe coming up.

He said: “The pressure is back on us now to go and get the three points at home on Saturday, and I’m looking forward to it. With the characters we’ve got in the team it is probably good to have that pressure on us, knowing we have to go out and win.

“We’ve had a bit of breathing space in the table and maybe some of the players have got complacent. Maybe this will be a little reminder of how tight the table is. Forest have been doing well and we’ll meet them in a big Sky TV game next month.

“But in the meantime we’ve got to concentrate on Peterborough at home and then Scunthorpe away. We’re aiming for six points over Christmas and, with Forest putting the pressure back on us, it is time for us to step up now and open up the gap again.

“We need to re-stamp our authority and remind people what we’re about. I think we’re doing well and I don’t think there is any need to panic. We just need to crack on and keep working hard.”

Thomas was one of a handful of Baggies players nursing injuries before the weekend and believes the loss of the Blackpool fixture was a blessing in disguise.

He said: “I think it was good for the lads to get more rest, particularly over this busy Christmas period. We’ve got a Saturday game, followed by a Monday game coming up.

“I’m happy the game was called off on Saturday because I would have missed it with a hamstring strain. It’s given me more time to recover and I’ll be fit for Saturday.”