Dean White has slammed Walsall striker Jabo Ibehre for the X-rated tackle which makes Albion midfielder Al Bangura a major doubt for tomorrow’s trip to Scunthorpe.

Referee Gavin Ward did not even book Ibehre for the second-half challenge which Albion’s assistant manager claims was career-threatening.

Bangura is having intensive treatment but has not trained for the past two days, although White has not ruled him out of the reckoning for the trip to Glanford Park.

White said: “That tackle could have ended his career. It was that bad but the referee didn’t bat an eyelid.

“He went over the ball and if you saw the state of Al’s shins you would know he was very lucky not to break his leg. It was a naughty tackle, you can’t condone it.”

Bangura’s injury was not the only unsatisfactory legacy of Albion’s trip to the Banks’s Stadium where the 3-0 defeat left them three points adrift of safety in League One with ten games to go.

New boss Russell Slade hauled the players in for extra training on Wednesday when defending better as a unit and team shape were at the top of the agenda.

White said: “We were as disappointed on Tuesday as we were pleased with the (5-0) win over Yeovil. We didn’t see that performance coming.

“Walsall had lost 5-0 at home in their previous game so we were under no illusions how Walsall would react.

“There was no excuse for being caught cold because the players were told in no uncertain terms what to expect.

“We had to see out the first 30 minutes and didn’t do that. Defensively, as a team, we were poor. We shored things up in the second half but at 3-0 the game is over. We have got to do better than that and the players know it.

“Even in games like Orient and Southend where we haven’t quite got the results we have still worked hard and stuck to the game plan.

“That went out of the window at Walsall. Maybe they thought they had cracked it after Yeovil but it was a rude awakening.”

Slade is keeping his options open as he assesses how Albion can beat a Scunthorpe side defeated just three times in the League at Glanford Park this season.

Gary Borrowdale’s return at left-back, after he came on to help shore things up at the break against Walsall, is almost certain while Tommy Elphick’s eye-catching contribution to the second-half clean sheet is likely to earn him a start in central defence.

With Adam Virgo available after suspension, Slade has extra options if he wants to freshen things up in midfield where the lack of creative spark for long spells of the Walsall game must have been a major concern.

Above all else though the players must remember their individual responsibilities and those of the team, according to White.

He said: “The players have to be resolute and adopt the right mental approach to get a result up there.

“Everyone knows their job on the pitch and if they don’t do it fingers will be pointed which is how it should be. It only takes one person to do his own thing and you have problems.”

The lighthearted banter as the players relaxed after training yesterday suggested that there is no siege mentality just yet despite the looming prospect of a return to League Two.

But that counts for nothing when the game starts, as White was quick to point out.

He said: “You can have as much good spirit as you want off the pitch. It’s what happens on the pitch that matters.

“The talking is irrelevant if you don’t do the deeds on the pitch and that is what needs to happen.

“We still feel five wins will keep us up. The players have to believe it’s a task they can achieve.”

Striker Glenn Murray returned to training yesterday after missing Tuesday’s defeat because of a reaction to his recent hernia surgery and he should be in the squad which heads north today.