BLUES boss John Gorman has called on his shell-shocked team to bounce straight back from their last-gasp defeat at Bury by knocking Paul Merson's Walsall out of the LDV Vans Trophy tonight.

The Blues travel to the Bescot Stadium still reeling from their late collapse at Gigg Lane on Saturday when they conceded two goals in six minutes to lose their unbeaten league record.

Gorman takes his team to the Midlands tonight admitting the match against the League One outfit is a fixture his battered and bruised team could do without.

Danny Senda (knee) Tommy Mooney (knee), Charlie Griffin and keeper Frank Talia (shoulder) all played with injuries on Saturday while Argentinian Sergio Torres picked up a knock during the game and is unlikely to play as well as Rob Lee..

Gorman said Steve Williams will play instead of Talia, with Matt Philo and Russell Martin set to stake a claim in the first team.

Youth teamers Ikechi Anya, Steve Gregory and James Faulkner will also be travelling to Walsall.

Gorman said: "We're down to the bare bones at the moment."

On the plus side, Ian Stonebridge has been recalled and is hoping to be fit for the Christmas period, while Stefan Oakes is also training again and will be fit to play over Christmas.

Gorman admits he may have to rest some of his senior players tonight with the busy Christmas schedule fast approaching but he is still looking for a response from his squad.

He said: "We've got to re-group. Walsall will be a very difficult game because we've got a very busy Christmas ahead and we want players to have time to recover."

He insists that the injuries his team are carrying were a factor in Saturday's shock defeat and with important league matches coming up against Torquay, Orient, Bristol Rovers and Macclesfield, he is considering switching his team around tonight to give his established stars time to recover.

He said in the aftermath of the Bury defeat: "I'm not making excuses but I was worried before the game. I had a lot of major doubts about players."