Another season is drawing painfully to a close and it looks as if the game may well be up for the struggling Saddlers tomorrow night, in their re-arranged game with Bournemouth. Nothing less than three wins is required from the remaining games and, following on from Saturday’s disaster versus Bristol City, it’s difficult to see where any points (or, for that matter, goals) are going to come from.

Kevan Broadhurst’s chances of swapping things about, in the hope of finding a line up that works have again been restricted. The Evening Mail is reporting that both James and Smith are unlikely to fit for the game tomorrow night, depriving the team of alternatives in a couple of areas.

I’d expect Oakes to be in goal, but then it gets more problematical.

Pead, Wright, Westwood, Gerrard, Roper, Mills and Fox are his choices at the back. Fox should really be dropped after Saturday, but there is no other option if Smith fails his fitness test. After Gerrard’s poor performance, I think I’d go for Pead, Roper, Mills and Fox, but I’m glad it’s not my call.

Wright, Osborn, Keates and Demontagnac would probably be my choice, but even that looks a little lightweight. Leary could play a part, as could Devlin, but his wing play left a lot to be desired against Bristol. Standing, fit again after a long term injury, may also figure.

Up front, the choices are Claridge, Timm, Constable, Fitzgerald and Barrowman and you could almost perm any two from 5, with Devlin also in the mix, I suppose. The only thing I’d say is that Claridge and Timm don’t look like they could play together, as they are both chance creators, rather than takers.

Bournemouth head to Bescot looking to end a run of three draws against the Saddlers and manager Sean O’Driscoll can pick from the same squad that drew 2-2 at Scunthorpe on Saturday, as he has no additional injury concerns.

Defender Adam Griffiths will be missing, after pulling up in training, and is awaiting further assessment. Goalkeeper Neil Moss and defender Warren Cummings continue to make good progress on their paths back to fitness, but will not be considered for the trip.

Their main danger will be top scorer James Hayter, scourge of Division 2 defences this season. To play alongside him, they have the 6 foot 2 inch, 14 ½ stone presence of Steve Fletcher, so our central defenders will have their work cut out. If we’re lucky, former Saddler Dani Rodrigues might play instead.

Bournemouth come into this game just five points ahead of us and having lost ten games away from home. Normally, I’d be calling this up as a home win and a chance to pull away from the foot of the table, but, after the way what confidence there was drained away as soon as Bristol City scored on Saturday, it’s difficult to see any cause for optimism. Certainly, I can’t see us getting anything without getting a clean sheet, judging by that collapse. The head says an away win, I’m afraid.