Valerien Ismael: New West Brom striker essential in January
Valerien Ismael said Albion must sign a centre-forward in January after his side were held to a goalless draw at Barnsley.
On a ground where they haven't won since 1947, the Baggies created enough chances to win three football matches.
Jordan Hugill and Karlan Grant both saw efforts cleared off the goal-line, while Cedric Kipre hit the post.
But Callum Robinson, Darnell Furlong, Matt Clarke and Kipre also had other excellent chances to get the goal Albion’s overall performance deserved.
In the end, though, they couldn’t find that bit of quality they needed in the final third – something that has been a theme this season.
Millwall, Derby, Preston North End, Middlesbrough and Nottingham Forest are just some of the teams Albion also should have beat this season.
But in those games their lack of firepower again meant they had to settle for a point.
Asked if Albion’s performance in South Yorkshire confirmed they need to sign a striker next month, Ismael said: “I didn’t have to wait for the game tonight.
“It’s been many weeks now that our target is clear in the front position. It is a reality that you need to score goals to win games.
“You need the player who is able to score goals. We have KG (Karlan Grant), we have Robbo (Callum Robinson), but we need more support, more impact to make sure we can win games.
“We have to do something on one of the front three positions.
“We’re trying everything. It’s clear that it’s better if you can get a player in as quickly as possible and not wait until the last minute because we have so many games. We need to do something quickly.”
On his team’s performance at Oakwell, Ismael said: “I think it’s a broken record tonight – again.
“We have been saying the same thing for many weeks now.
“It was a great game, another clean sheet, we are strong defensively and we put the ball in the right areas. But at the end of the day you need to score.
“You look at the big chances we had – especially in the first-half – we need to have that killer instinct.
“This is a point where the players need to take the responsibility and see that they were too sloppy.
“This is the reason why we are very disappointed and we are saying the same things again and again.”
