FABIAN de Freitas will spearhead the Wanderers attack in Saturday's all or nothing relegation duel with Southampton.

The Dutchman takes over from suspended striker Nathan Blake for a game Colin Todd's never-say-die battlers must win to keep their slim survival hopes alive.

As the Wanderers boss waited anxiously for the return of his international brigade, he was preparing to persevere with the formation that has kept the relegation wolf from the door in recent weeks with four wins in eight games.

Final selection will depend on whether Sasa Curcic, John McGinlay and Gudni Bergsson return unscathed from their international duties but de Freitas for Blake is the only planned change to the side beaten 1-0 at West Ham two Saturdays ago.

The axe will fall this weekend, if Wanderers fail to win. Indeed, they could beat Saints and still be sentenced to the drop if Manchester City and Coventry both win their games.

But there is a strong sense of defiance at Burnden and a determination to take the survival fight to the final game of the season at Arsenal on Sunday week.

Todd was keeping his fingers crossed as he waited for Curcic, McGinlay and Bergsson - all with key parts to play - to report back.

McGinlay had just 45 minutes' action in Scotland's 3-0 defeat in Tuesday's B international in Denmark. But his teammates fared better last night - Curcic in the Yugoslavian squad that beat the Faroe Islands 3-1 in a world cup qualifier (their first competitive international for four and a half years) and Bergsson skippering Iceland to a 3-0 friendly victory over Estonia.

Burnden keeper Aidan Davison found the highly-rated Swedish strikeforce too hot to handle on his international debut for Northern Ireland.

Bryan Hamilton's makeshift side put up a dogged display before going down 2-1 in the Belfast friendly.

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