Wanderers 0, Deportivo Alaves 2

SAM Allardyce is still open to persuasion as he weighs up his Premiership options.

With just 10 days to go before the start of the new season, the Wanderers' boss has told his entire squad that places are still up for grabs.

"It doesn't matter who they are," he insists. "If someone impresses me in the pre-season friendlies then they are going to put themselves in the frame.

"Everybody's out there to prove that they are ready to play on the 18th of August."

Confirmation that the manager still has an open mind about his selection plans for the opening Premiership fixture at Leicester followed last night's defeat by UEFA Cup finalists, Deportivo Alaves.

Allardyce described his team's first half performance as "incredibly poor" and left those involved under no illusions. "Players can always put their name onto the position if they do it the right way," he explained, "and I have to say that a lot of the players we had in the first half didn't particularly excite me about picking them for the 18th of August."

It was more mild chastisement rather than a full-scale rebuke, what the manager described as a "slap in the face" which he hopes will prompt a positive response.

After the horrors of last summer, he does not hold much store by the results of pre-season games. Nevertheless, the loss of Saturday's scheduled game in Greece against Aris Salonika means Wanderers are desperately short of competitive action as they look to use the remaining days of their preparation to sharpen up their fitness and put the final touches to their team work.

Consequently, tomorrow night's game at Southport - originally a reserve team friendly - has been promoted to a first team fixture and Allardyce will make his final assessment after the weekend when he pits team-mate against team-mate in a private practice match at the Reebok.

He will be hoping to get more satisfaction from that than he did from Wanderers' second encounter with Spanish opposition in the space of five days.

Following the pattern of Friday night's defeat by Athletic Bilbao, they failed to upset the composure of the talented continentals and, more worrying still on this occasion, didn't create anything to test keeper Martin Herrera. Apart from having to get down at Michael Ricketts' feet 13 minutes from time, the Argentine did not have a single shot to save.

He might have been stretched if Akinori Nishizawa had not hesitated two minutes from time when Ricardo Gardner teed him up. Before he knew it, the striker on loan from Osaka - a 16th minute substitute for the injured Henrik Pedersen - was suddenly surrounded by Spaniards and his chance to mark his Reebok debut with a goal as well as giving the now familiar posse of Japanese press a headline was gone.

That was a rare moment of creativity from a Wanderers side Allardyce admitted was "disjointed". They will have been disappointed too by the defending when the Brazilian, Magno, beat offside appeals and rounded Jussi Jasskelainen to put Alaves ahead on seven minutes and when they were caught by a swift counter-attack for Ruben Navarro to grab the second in overtime.

In contrast, Oscar Tellez, the Spanish defender Wanderers are understood to have been keen on, didn't put a foot wrong at the heart of the visitors' defence.

Wanderers: Jaaskelainen; Bergsson, Hendry, Marshall (Barness 57 mins), Charlton (Whitlow 45); Warhurst (Nolan 71), Diawara (Frandsen 78), Farrelly (Southall 58); Hansen (Gardner 45), Nouma (Ricketts 66), Pedersen (Nishizawa 16).

Alaves: Herrera; Geli, Coloccini, Telez, Llorens (Karmona 66); Mara (Vucko 62), Denio, Astudillo, Magno (Begona 49); Jordi (Pablo 66), Alonso (Navarro 55).

Attendance: 6,115.