Albion loan star Graham Barrett confirmed today that he will be joining the Seagulls for the rest of the season.

Arsenal's Republic of Ireland striker said: "I will be signing this afternoon or tomorrow morning for the rest of the season. I am delighted because I really enjoy it here.

"The lads are great and I really think we can stay up."

Barrett's declaration ends lingering doubts over his future. His three-month stint with the Seagulls expired last week and his agent has been trying to re-negotiate his contract with Arsenal, which runs out in the summer.

Barrett said: "Arsenal have offered me a new contract. It is going to take a few more weeks or months to get it sorted out but there is an offer there. There was no problem with me signing the loan. I want to stay here, everyone knows that. I've had such a good time here."

Barrett is confident he will be fit for Saturday's relegation battle at Sheffield Wednesday after missing the last four matches with damaged knee ligaments.

"I feel fine," he said. "I have trained fully all week and I really cannot wait for Saturday."

Boss Steve Coppell is less optimistic about Barrett's fitness, describing him as: "touch and go" for the showdown at Hillsborough.

"I don't want to risk him perhaps being out for a month by forcing him to play too quickly," Coppell said.

Coppell has set his team a target of at least five points from the next three matches to maintain their First Division survival bid.

The Seagulls follow Saturday's basement battle at Sheffield Wednesday with a home game against Ipswich next Tuesday and a trip to Derby four days later.

They have just emerged from a similarly tough spell of fixtures at Preston, Nottingham Forest and against Reading at Withdean with one point, so now they are playing catch-up to keep pace with Coppell's schedule.

He said: "It's not often I look ahead like that, but just by looking at the board in my office every morning I considered these six games. We've just had two mightily difficult away games and one difficult home game. Now we have got another batch like that.

"I was hoping for three points from each batch as a minimum. I think that would keep us on course.

"It would be great if we have got something from these three games, because then we have come through a really hard patch. Mind you, there is never an easy fixture. After that we've got Leicester at home, then Norwich away and Burnley at home. It's never-ending."