SAM Allardyce says the pressures of the transfer window had forced him to sign his new continental trio of Spaniard Salva Ballesta and French duo Pierre-Yves Andre and Florent Laville purely on their CVs.

"There was no time to watch them," he explained. "It was either take them or not take anybody. I had to take the gamble."

Summing up the importance of The Hawthorns clash on Saturday ,Allardyce put a new slant on some old soccer-speak.

"Never mind a six-pointer," he exaggerated, "the way things are shaping up, this could be a 24-pointer!"

A win would lift Wanderers seven points clear of Gary Megson's Albion.

He still believes the battle to beat the drop could go the distance but, after dragging Birmingham back into the melting pot last week, he knows victory over their Midlands' neighbours would be another major boost.

"Any victory in the Premiership is massive," Allardyce stressed. "In fact, I've never known a win mean so much since I started in the game in 1969."

Wanderers are not only looking at the three teams below them - West Ham are at Leeds, Sunderland travel to Spurs - but, as with Birmingham (home to Chelsea), they are aiming to draw other teams into the danger zone. Fulham (home to Villa) and Middlesbrough (at Liverpool) will be looking over their shoulders fearing a surge from the pack of clubs fighting for their Premiership lives.

"When Middlesbrough beat us 2-0 (in October) they went second in the league and look where they are now," Allardyce pointed out, suggesting that Michael Ricketts may have jumped out of the frying pan into the fire.

"That's how quickly things can change."