PAUL Ritchie is on standby as Sam Allardyce plans to get mean in the new millennium.

The Wanderers' boss confirmed today that he is considering changing his defensive formation for the trip to Walsall next Monday and the Scotland international could figure on the left of a three centre-back combination alongside Mark Fish and Gudni Bergsson.

"Paul might come into the figuring at Walsall," the manager said, "It will be difficult there because they are fighting for their lives and we'll have to cope with them defensively.

"But, if you keep it tight against them, they struggle."

Ritchie has joined Wanderers on a three-month loan deal from Hearts ostensibly as cover for Mark Fish who will be on African Nations Cup duty with South Africa early in the new year. He watched yesterday's 1-1 draw with West Brom from the subs' bench but Allardyce was so frustrated to see his defence concede a goal from a routine set-piece that he is seriously contemplating a switch from his customary 4-4-2 formation.

"We need to get back into clean sheet mode," he insisted after seeing Claus Jensen cancel out Daryl Burgess's Albion opener with a sensational free kick nine minutes from time.

Allardyce is still trying to win the release of Fish and Ricardo Gardner, who is on Concacaf Gold Cup duty with Jamaica, for the first leg of the Worthington Cup semi-final against Tranmere at the Reebok on Wednesday, January 12.

But he has slammed the international call-ups that will rob him of two of his first team regulars at a critical stage of the season.

"I just think it's not right in the situation we are in," he argued. "It leaves me with a potential crisis on my hands if I pick up a crop of injuries again.

"It looks like we are getting most of the long-term injuries fit again and it might not hurt us too much but we could well do without it."

Ritchie joined Dean Holdsworth and John O'Kane today in a private friendly Allardyce arranged to give a runout to his fit-again long-term absentees. Paul Warhurst, however, is back in the treatment room with a groin injury after being withdrawn just 37 minutes into his comeback game yesterday.

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