West Bromwich Albion manager Bryan Robson is hoping to secure an extra ten-day reprieve before having to wave off in-form front men Kanu and Diomansy Kamara on African Nations Cup duty next month.

Kanu is currently scheduled to link up with his Nigeria squad on January 6, the same day Kamara is due to report for duty with Senegal.

But the two players want to remain at The Hawthorns for a further ten days to play in the FA Cup third round tie with Reading on January 7, and the following weekend's Premiership trip to Wigan on January 15. Albion are now awaiting a response from Nigerian and Senegal.

"Kanu's first game is January 24," said Robson. "And Kamara's first match is 24 hours before that.

"That would mean they'd still have a week to prepare with their teams for the opening games if they left on January 16.

"I'm asking the two countries if they can leave the players until after the Wigan game on January 15 and then can go after that.

"I'm not sure if the request will be granted but the play-ers want to be involved in the Wigan game. They've both asked if they can join up on January 16. And it's good the players are not wanting to go until then.

"The two FAs have the final say, but we've always tried to be helpful with Kanu and Kamara when they have gone away with their countries. And we're just asking for Nigeria and Senegal to be helpful with us on this occasion."

Kanu has been a major force in the four-game unbeaten run that has lifted Albion out of the Premiership table's bottom three, while Kamara scored his first goal for the club in Saturday's 2-0 win over Manchester City.

But it is a general improvement in performance levels throughout the whole team that has had the major effect. And so great is confidence in the camp that Robson has even taken to calling time on training sessions - in a bid to avoid burn-out among his players.

"We've been on fire in training," said midfielder Jonathan Greening. "The gaffer thinks we're going to waste it and not do it in games and he's had to call some sessions short.

"We've had to dig in and scrap it out. But the main thing is that we've been playing decent football. "Inamoto has come into the team and linked up brilliantly with Kanu. And that has added another dimension. Things seem to be flowing a bit better."

That flow might be slightly stemmed by the potential loss of defender Steve Watson, a major injury doubt for tomorrow's trip to Portsmouth after the hamstring injury he suffered against City.

But one certainty is that the potential disruption that might have been caused by Roy Keane's arrival in Albion's tight-knit dressing room is no longer a worry. Keane's decision to move to Celtic yesterday was still a blow for Robson, who had wanted to sign the player, but did not even get as far as discussing personal terms.

"I never spoke about money to Roy," said Robson. "It was more about what challenge he wanted.

"Roy has always challenged for trophies at United.

"If he had selected an Everton, West Ham, West Brom or Bolton, who are not really going to be challenging for trophies, Roy might have found that difficult.

"But I think this is a decent move for him.

"If he'd picked a Premier-ship club, it would have been awkward for him going back to United.

"But Celtic are still going for the league and they'll probably have the Champions League next year, so it's the different type of challenge Roy was after. Celtic will suit Roy down to the ground."