Footballers covet their days off but defender Tommy Elphick admits he was glad boss Russell Slade cancelled Albion’s this week.

The team coach did not pull into Brighton until 1.30am on Wednesday after the hugely disappointing 3-0 defeat at Walsall which left Albion three points adrift of safety in League One.

But boss Russell Slade had the players back in a few hours later to work on team shape and pattern of play.

Elphick, who helped Albion keep a second-half clean sheet after replacing Adam El-Abd at the break, said: “It was good to be back in Wednesday otherwise you are sitting around on your day off thinking about things and letting it fester.

“It was important to freshen the mind and get our focus on today’s game and I think we benefited from it.”

Slade made a point of praising Elphick’s contribution to the second-half clean sheet afterwards which must have delighted the 21-year-old whose recent ankle injury sustained in the 4-0 home defeat by Crewe came at the worst possible time.

He said: “It wasn’t a great time to get injured with a new manager coming in who could only pick from players who were fit.

“We are spoilt for choice for centre-halves at this club but hopefully I have done enough to be in the team today and can build a partnership with Matt Heath.”

Elphick has always acknowledged how having the experienced Guy Butters alongside helped him get established last season and he is hoping the presence of Heath and the equally experienced Gary Borrowdale and Andrew Whing can give Albion some much-needed defensive stability in the remaining ten games of the campaign.

He said: “Matt’s great to play alongside because he’s very experienced and a good talker.

“Gary Borrowdale is the same and I’m lucky to be playing alongside such experienced defenders. I feel it makes me play better.

“As a side we need a platform to work from if we are going to get wins and stay up. If we keep conceding two or three goals in every game we are not going to win many.

“Before Tuesday things were looking more positive but we have to put Walsall out of our heads and concentrate on Saturday.

“Since Wednesday the gaffer has been drumming into us the team shape and game plan because every game between now and the end of the season is a cup final.”

Dean Cox is likely to be the only survivor in today’s starting line up from the team which won at Glanford Park on Albion’s last visit to Humberside in October 2006.

The Seagulls went into that game in even worse form than they are now, having lost their previous five games under Dean Wilkins, but goals from Cox and Gary Hart sealed a 2-1 win.

Elphick watched from the stands that day and remembers it well.

He said: “We’ve got good memories of Scunthorpe and we will go there confident.

“It definitely gives you a little edge returning to somewhere where you have had a good result in the same way you don’t look forward to going to a ground where you have had a torrid time before.

“They are going well but we won’t be going there and sitting back. The manager wants us to be positive and go forward at every opportunity. We need three points so there’s no point sitting back for a draw but we have to make sure we are solid defensively as a team and go from there.”