Six years ago, Nicky Forster fired Reading to promotion to the Championship as runners-up to Albion with 19 goals.

Now he is aiming to go one goal better to help the Seagulls into the play-offs.

Forster took his tally to 15 with his equaliser at Walsall on Tuesday.

The experienced striker revealed: "I've got my own target for the season. If I can get to the 20-goal mark I would have taken that at the start of the season.

"With a little bit of luck I can get there and I should imagine Muzza (Glenn Murray) will want to get to a similar sort of figure."

Murray also headed his 15th of the campaign at Walsall, including the ten he scored for Rochdale prior to his £300,000 move in January.

It was the first time Albion's strike partnership have been on the scoresheet together, further evidence of their growing understanding.

Forster said: "It is taking a while, because we are a team. It's not just defence, midfield and attackers. We are expected to do our shift defending from the front and that is sometimes a heavy shift for us.

"It's learning what our manager wants us to do but the signs are good. At times we've had some good link-up play and that will only improve.

"We train hard on the training ground together and we like each other. I like him as a person and hopefully I'll have a long career with him."

Forster has been impressed by Murray's unflappable approach. Missing chances does not seem to bother him.

He said: "It's a test of a striker. No one is going to score every game. The strikers whose goals to ratio of chances is very high are the ones in the Premier League. We are aspiring to be that, Muzza especially at his age.

"He is learning the game still and it is good to see him back on the scoresheet because he's had a few games where he had a few chances.

"The test of a good striker is to keep putting yourself in those positions and to stand up and be counted."

Forster, 34, has scored goals for Gillingham, Brentford, Birmingham, Ipswich and Hul, as well as Reading and Albion.

Murray, ten years his junior is grateful to be playing alongside a front man with such a proven pedigree.

He said: "I think we link up more often now. It's getting to a level where we know more about each other. I think that is starting to show on the park.

"Nicky will want to finish with as many goals as he can and so will I - it is just a striker's instinct. All In can do is learn off him.

"His movement is good, his touch is brilliant, he brings other players into the game and he gets on to the last defender's shoulder really well. It is quite easy to find him with a ball through into space."

Forster's 20-yard drive against Walsall was his first goal from open play since December, both of his goals in-between coming from the penalty spot.

Murray's winner made it eight in nine starts together, so can they keep it going and blast Albion to promotion, just as Forster did for Reading in 2002?

Forster said: "It is all going to be about who comes to form at the right time. It is about the teams that keep their nerve. The best teams in the world, like Man United, are the ones that grind out results at this stage.

"Sometimes it's not pretty but they just win games and that is what gets you promotions and titles."