SAM Allardyce's worst fears have been realised with the appointment of the referee for the second leg of Wanderers' play-off duel with West Brom.

Three days after criticising the performance of Roy Pearson in Sunday's home draw with Sheffield United, the Reebok boss has learned that the ref from Peterlee in County Durham will be in charge of next Thursday's crucial fixture.

It's a bitter blow for Allardyce, who stressed on Monday the importance of strong referees in the play-offs.

Haunted by the spectre of Barry Knight, the Orpington referee he blamed for costing Wanderers a place in last season's play-off final, the manager said the choice of officials was one of the most critical aspects of the tie.

And he made it clear Mr Pearson was not the one he wanted after he'd brandished eight yellow cards and sent off Franck Passi in what was essentially a meaningless end of season fixture.

He said: "The last five or six referees we've had have been excellent but this one stood out and didn't have a good game at all."

Allardyce, who has a low tolerance of poor refereeing, was severely reprimanded for comments he made after the second leg of last year's play-off decider at Ipswich in which Mr Knight showed two red cards, 12 yellow cards and awarded three penalties - all against Wanderers - in a game they led 3-2 going into the final minute and eventually lost 5-3.

He didn't refer to Mr Knight by name but said, ahead of the West Brom clash: "The referee either makes or breaks you!

"We experienced that last season. That is an area that is foremost in my mind when I go to a play-off game now. It's not just about playing against the opposition but have we got someone in the middle who can control what can be an extremely volatile situation due to the amount of pressure the play-offs bring?"

Coincidentally, the appointment of David Laws for Sunday's first leg at The Hawthorns has not gone down well with West Brom, who saw the Whitley Bay official controversially book Baggies' Player of the Year, Neil Clement, in Sunday's 2-1 defeat at Preston and prompted manager Gary Megson to make precautionary substitutions to guard against possible red cards. The Birmingham Evening Mail described Mr Laws' performance as "a joke".

Allardyce refused to comment publicly on the appointments today but, privately, he is understood to be seriously concerned, despite being assured that Mr Pearson and Mr Laws are in the top six of the Nationwide League referees table.