There has not been much in the way of New Year cheer so far for Brighton and Hove Albion.

A home postponement against Wimbledon and results elsewhere returned them to the foot of the First Division.

The Seagulls are two points adrift at the bottom going into their first League fixture of 2003 at Coventry on Saturday.

With less than half the season left it seems, on the face of it, a pretty desperate situation, but you don't have to look back very far for an inspirational example of a route to survival.

What Albion require in their close shave with relegation is a Crewe cut.

Steve Coppell's side currently have 20 points from 26 games. Two seasons ago Crewe Alexandra entered the New Year at the bottom of the First Division with just two more points from the same number of matches.

Long-serving manager Dario Gradi steered them to safety in a staggering transformation.

The unfashionable Staffordshire club won nine, drew six and lost only five of their last 20 matches. They finished 14th, a comfortable eight places and seven points clear of the drop.

Crewe offer Albion hope in a completely contrasting manner as well. They were 20th at the turn of last year, yet still went down.

A look at the table at this stage last season reveals that only Stockport, already hopelessly tailed off 12 points below the rest, remained in the bottom three by the end of the season.

Sheffield Wednesday were 23rd, as they are now, after ending the old year with a 5-0 defeat at Norwich.

They had 24 points from 27 games, four points more than their current tally, and they finished a point and two places clear of relegation.

Grimsby were 22nd but ended up safe by a point and three places. Barnsley dropped from 19th to next-to-bottom while Rotherham, 18th at the start of January, only stayed up on goal difference.

Crewe's great escape, combined with last season's fluctuations, emphasises much can change over the next four months. The likes of Walsall and Preston could easily be dragged into trouble.

Coppell is keeping a calm sense of equilibrium. He didn't get excited when Albion moved off the bottom recently and he isn't uptight now that they are back there.

"The League is a nonsense at the moment, it's not even worth looking at," he said.

"The fact remains we have got to get 40 plus points. Last year 49 points (Crewe) went down, so we have got an awful long way to go and it's a points accumulation that is important.

"We've got to get a lot more points to get out of this situation. Where we are in January, where we were in December makes no difference. It's where we are in May that matters.

"We know exactly what we have to do between now and the end of the season. There are 20 games left, we've got to get a good haul of points. Forget the position, we have got to at least get 46 points this year to give ourselves a really good chance of staying up.

"It's all about points, not position, at the moment. That is just under two points per game, which we haven't got anywhere near doing so far."

The Wimbledon postponement and the FA Cup have interrupted the race for precious points.

"The month is really going to drag, because there are only two League games and when you are down at the bottom you really want to get in amongst the League fixtures," Coppell said. "This month is going to be slow building up to the crescendo of March, when there are so many fixtures."

All sorts of things can influence the final outcome, including the form, fitness and availability of key players in rival ranks at the time you play them.

The bad news is Coventry have hit a purple patch which has revived their play-off challenge. The good news is that experienced defender Dean Gordon and young frontrunner Jay Bothroyd are both suspended for Albion's visit.

Chances are Coppell will persist with a trio of central defenders at Highfield Road on Saturday. That was the way he intended to start last Saturday's postponed FA Cup tie at Norwich.

It suits Danny Cullip, leader of the Albion crew. "When I first came to the club we were playing with three centre halves," he said.

"I am enjoying playing in the middle of the three and I think we are looking quite effective."

Portsmouth, Albion's other January League opponents at Withdean a week on Saturday, are still top but in nothing like the sparkling form they were in earlier in the season.

Crewe's turnaround two seasons ago, included a 1-0 home win over Pompey, further evidence that it is far too early to give up on the Seagulls.