IAN ROPER is under no illusion that it will be difficult to gain an automatic recall to The Saddlers' side for tomorrow's trip to Tranmere Rovers (kick-off 7.45pm).

The no-nonsense defender was forced to sit out of Sunday's 1-1 draw with high-flying Swansea after picking up his fifth booking of the season. An impressive display at the Liberty Stadium may see Kevan Broadhurst stick with the same back four and Roper admitted that he would have no complaints should he fail to make the starting line-up at Prenton Park.  "Of course I'd like to get back into the team but the lads did well on Sunday," he said. "Anthony and Pablo were excellent against Swansea and Chris Westwood is fit again, so we'll just have to see what happens."

Competition for places in the heart of defence is fierce but, according Roper, that can only be beneficial to the team as a whole and will stand The Saddlers in good stead between now and the end of the season. "There's been a fight for defensive positions all season really but I think it's good to have good players competing for places," he added. "I think you need that all over the squad really.

 "When you know that there is a player equally as good as you who can come in and replace you, it helps you raise game. The more competition, the better in my opinion."

Roper's last first-team appearance was almost a fortnight ago but, after getting 90 minutes under his belt for the reserves earlier this week, the 28 year-old is fully-fit and explained that he will be doing his all in training to force his way into Broadhurst's plans. "It was good to get a reserve game under my belt to keep my match sharpness up," he went on. "It's been a couple of weeks since I last played what with the Bournemouth game being called off but I'm match fit and hopefully, the manager will see that in training today and tomorrow.

"It's a big game for us because if we can get a win up there, it'll put pressure on a lot of teams around us who aren't playing until Saturday."

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