Martin Hinshelwood will come up against the man hotly tipped to take on the Albion job before him at Vicarage Road on Saturday.

Watford assistant Terry Burton was one of the Seagulls' summer targets to fill the post vacated by Peter Taylor.

Curiously though chairman Dick Knight never followed up his initial interest in the former Wimbledon chief.

Burton did not put his name forward for the Albion job. "I did not apply, but I had an interview with the chairman in London after they approached me," he revealed.

"It was quite informal and I knew at the time he was talking to other people. He made no secret of that.

"He seemed a committed chairman and Brighton supporter as well, with the best interests of the club at heart. You could tell that from the way he talks and his enthusiasm."

Knight's enthusiasm fell short of getting back in touch with Burton. "Because of the circumstances it went on for some time and then this other job came up for me," he said.

"I was offered the Watford job at around the time I was having a small hip operation. I had committed myself to them from early July.

"I didn't hear any more about the Brighton job and I didn't really pursue it, so it never cropped up again."

One of the conditions imposed by Knight, working with the existing backroom staff, was not an obstacle as far as Burton was concerned.

"We didn't really get beyond talking football, but I understood they wanted to keep the backroom staff and that was no problem for me. They are all good people.

"It's a tough division and I feel for Martin. I have known him for a number of years and I know how he must be feeling at the moment.

"It only takes one result to get you back on track and, apart from this weekend, I hope they can turn it around.

"Martin is a good sort. I am sure he will keep his head up and the players' heads up.

"I think Brighton is potentially still a very big club with their supporter base. They are obviously restricted at the moment by the ground, but they have been a big club in the past and I can see them being a reasonably big club again.

"They could maybe get in the Premier League at some stage with the amount of support they have."

Such lofty ambitions seem a world away for rock-bottom Albion at the moment as they struggle to come to terms with life in Division One.

Burton couldn't rescue Wimbledon from losing their Premier League status in 1999-2000 following the ill-fated reign of Egil Olsen.

He then guided the Dons to eighth and ninth in testing circumstances prior to an acrimonious departure in the summer.

"It's a very difficult League," Burton said. "Half of the teams that were in the top flight ten or 12 years ago are now in the First Division.

"It is very competitive with some big players who have played in the Premier League during the last three years.

"If Brighton can just stabilise it and survive everyone would settle for that. They had a good start, which they have not been able to build on.

"The players are learning about life in Division One and all you can do is keep positive and keep on believing."

It's going pretty well for Burton and Ray Lewington at Watford, despite a deepening cash crisis compounded by the free-spending spell of Gianluca Vialli.

"We've made a commitment to each other in terms of a contract," Burton said. "I am out every day working with the players, which is what I enjoy doing.

"I have been here since the beginning of September. Like many clubs in the First Division we have got our financial problems, but the players have worked very hard and on the field it is going reasonably well.

"Brighton will be a tough game for us. They know they have got to work hard to turn it around.

"There are no easy games in this division and their players will be playing for pride. They want to show they are good enough to cope. If we get a 1-0 win we will be delighted."

Hinshelwood's hopes of hanging onto his job may already have gone for a burton.

If Knight stays true to his own form and that of most trigger-happy chairmen then the home defeat by Grimsby could have been the last straw.

He will probably view the gap between the Watford fixture and the next one, at home to Sheffield United on October 19 as a window of opportunity for change.

Knight will, at the same time, not wish to be portrayed as callously abandoning the loyal servant he appointed fewer than a dozen weeks ago.

Interestingly, Hinshelwood's former role as director of youth has not yet been filled, although whether he would wish to return to it is another matter.

Whatever happens, the Watford match completes another amazing chapter in Albion's unpredictable history.

October 5 last year was the date of Micky Adams' last game in charge, all be it in starkly contrasting circumstances.