There is a pretty good chance that Albert Jarrett will get a fleeting taste of the action for Albion against Leeds at Withdean tomorrow.

The teenage winger is likely to celebrate his 20th birthday not as a starter or part of the main course so much as the Seagulls' added ingredient.

Jarrett has come off the bench in seven of the last nine matches after starting four of Albion's first five games.

It is a familiar feeling for the former MK Dons flyer, who scored his first goal for the club as a second-half substitute in last Saturday's defeat at Crewe.

"The situation is a bit similar to the one I had at MK Dons," Jarrett said. "At the start of the season there I was starting but results weren't going our way.

"I felt I played all right, but results were more important than individual performances and this is the same.

"It was a good feeling to score at Crewe, even though we were losing. I am off the mark now and hopefully there are more goals to come.

"Obviously I would prefer to be playing from the start. Coming off the bench I am just looking to make sure I have a positive effect and change the course of the game if we are under pressure.

"That is how the gaffer sees my role at the moment. I will keep working to try and get back into the starting line-up. Until then if I am just coming on I will do my best."

Jarrett's pacey runs have made him popular with fans. He capitalised on a stray backpass to slot Albion's late consolation at Crewe and came on again in the second half for Darren Currie in Tuesday's 1-1 home draw with Cardiff.

Now he is relishing a run of fixtures against some of the Championship giants. Albion visit Sunderland after Leeds and they also go to West Ham next month.

"We have got some big games coming up," Jarrett said. "We are just looking to get three points tomorrow to get rolling back up that table, because teams below us are starting to win as well.

"We have a good number of points so far and come the end of the season they will be vital.

"As we have seen, there are not as many good teams in the League as you think."

Before a ball had been kicked most supporters expected Withdean to be vital to Albion's chances of survival, yet so far they have fared much better away from home.

Ten of their 16 points have been gained on the road, including notable wins at Leicester and Nottingham Forest. Their solitary home success was against Preston at the end of August.

"Our away form is better than our home form and we need to start picking points up at home," Jarrett admitted.

"If we do that then we should finish mid-table, no problem, or higher than that. Anything else would be a bonus."

The slimly-built former Charlton schoolboy, now a respectable 5ft 11ins, revealed: "When I was younger my height would not allow me to progress, but my ability has seen me through. I am not as small as before and I can only get bigger!"

And better if the verdict of Steven King, the Lewes manager who recommended Jarrett to Albion, proves to be prophetic.

King has known him since he was 16 and playing for Dulwich Hamlet. He predicted the Seagulls' second close season capture, quick and direct, could eventually become a £1 million player.

"Steve has got a lot of confidence in me," Jarrett said. "I don't see why I cannot live up to that, but I have got to work very hard to get there. Nothing happens by magic."