Hal Robson-Kanu takes aim at West Brom owner Guochuan Lai over Albion's current plight

The Baggies slipped into the bottom three with a defeat at Preston - leaving them with just one win in the first 12 Championship games.

Calls among the fan base continue to grow for Bruce to be relieved of his duties - but Robson-Kanu, who left the club last summer, believes the owner has to take some responsibility for the current situation.

Robson-Kanu, who was a pundit for the game at Deepdale on Sky Sports, insisted that Albion owner Guochuan Lai had to shoulder some of the blame for Albion's demise.

He said: "I feel Steve Bruce's frustration, and you can see how much it means to him. There's no question that'll be doing everything in his power, his back-room staff will be doing everything in their power, to turn this ship around.

"When you look at the club, and zoom out for a second because everyone at this moment is focused on there being 12 games in and one win, but if you look at the club from a structural perspective and investment perspective, it's been a difficult 18 months for the club.

"They haven't really invested in terms of team players. You look at the last transfer window just gone, they had three or four deals done, which were Steve Bruce signings, and they fell through the night of the transfer window [deadline].

"That's very difficult as a manager, and when you look at that, I think he deserves more time. I think he can turn it around, but actually in terms of what he has in terms of resources, in terms of what the club have invested into the squad, it's a difficult time for the club.

"The club is a big club, and it should be fighting for promotion from this league, but you need to invest and you need to show that intent. These players are giving their all. The manager has been on the touch-line the whole game.

"From the owner's perspective, I think this is a higher up issue than the players and the managers - it always stems from an ownership issue."