Stephen Ward has challenged Albion to stay in touch in the Championship promotion race as they head into a run of games against teams below them.

The eighth-placed Seagulls go to Bolton tomorrow seven points behind Queens Park Rangers in fourth after beating them at the Amex on Tuesday.

Oscar Garcia’s side have closed to within three points of faltering Nottingham Forest in fifth and are only two in arrears of Reading and Wigan.

The visit to the Reebok launches a sequence of matches against sides further adrift of the play-off places or in the bottom half of the table before Albion visit champions-elect Leicester next month.

Left-back Ward, who sealed the win against Rangers, said: “I suppose a couple of weeks ago there were three or four teams maybe playing for one spot. You always hope that one or two other spots are going to open up.

“We have just got to concentrate on ourselves. We can’t look around too much at the other results. It’s important that we try to stay in the shake-up, because if you get that little bit too far adrift it becomes very difficult.

“When you are one or two points outside it you have always got a chance. That’s what we have been concentrating on.

“The management staff here are very grounded. They keep us concentrating on only one game at a time.”

Ward and David Lopez, with two goals apiece, are the only players apart from the prolific Leo Ulloa to have scored for Albion in the league this year.

Ward said: “Leo has been scoring a lot lately but it’s important we chip in from other areas. We’ve got a tough game now against a Bolton side who are on a really good run at the moment.”