THE last piece has fallen into manager Sam Allardyce's Carling Cup team jigsaw with Greek international midfielder Stelios fit to join the big build-up to Sunday's showdown with Middlesbrough in Cardiff.

Stelios missed games for Greece and Wanderers last week with a groin injury but returned to training yesterday.

It gives Allardyce a full squad, apart from long-term cruciate knee victims Florent Laville and Ricardo Gardner, and means he can make a detailed preparation with all his senior players available.

It's bad news for fringe players like keeper Kevin Poole and midfielder Ibrahim Ba, who played through the earlier rounds while first-choice men were rested.

Allardyce said: "Some players who won't be selected started us off on the road to the final. But when you get to the semi-final you have to put out the strongest team you can and they took us through.

Disappointment

"It will be difficult to tell them that they won't be involved but it's part of my job. The players understand that some will be disappointed.

"They are still part of the squad and have to help the team try to win it."

Allardyce knows his starting line-up and reckons he can guess the Boro side that Steve McClaren will field.

He added: "Ugo Ehiogu and George Boateng played against Newcastle on Saturday after missing games recently so it looks as though both of us will be at full strength.

"I think if I picked Steve's side and he picked mine, I don't think either of us would be too far off."

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