Confidence is a virtue that should be handled with care. Because once lost, it is the devil of a job to find it again.

There was precious little confidence being shown at Selhurst last Saturday, on or off the pitch.

Having waited 13 mainly inglorious years to play the Palace, this should have been the dream fixture. If there had been any sign of an Albion dream team playing, all those years might have been rewarded.

In terms of unrequited expectations, Saturday has to go down as a definitive example and having flown home especially for the game I found myself questioning what remains of my sanity. I took no comfort in realising I was not the only one affected similarly, because it is years since such an atmosphere of despair and disillusionment filled a stand full of Brighton supporters. Not even at Hereford do I remember such feelings of hopeless inevitability.

Whenever talk turns to history, Hereford plays a pivotal role and some people have tried to put last Saturday's result into perspective by drawing comparisons with that momentous day at Edgar Street.

Quite reasonably, they say that the consequences of losing at Hereford and relegation to the Conference would have been ruinous, whereas the very worst that can happen this season is a drop to Division Two. A place that in 1997 we would have given our eye-teeth to play in.

The problem, however, with history, is that it is, at the end of the day, history, and relates to things that happened when times and circumstances were different.

History must always be given the respect it deserves but it cannot continually be dragged into the present day, have the dust shaken off it and be used to justify accepting current bad times with a perfect grace.

History must also take a back seat when fans look at the current management of the club and how decisions are being taken. It is vital to achieve longer-term aims like Falmer but it is also important to remember that the fans want results today as well as a bright future tomorrow.

They want to know what is going on but do not all want to get bogged down with heavy political machinations about public inquiries and business plans, especially all the while the team look like they are headed for hell in a handbasket. Or Division Two.

Which is why harking back to Lifelines that rescued the club back in the dark days may not be the most constructive way forward. As far as I am concerned, the chairman will always be a Knight in shining armour because there is no doubt he saved the club from a fate as bad as death.

Without Brighton's exceptional fans, who fought so hard against the hated regime, there would have been nothing worth saving and it was the combination of the two elements that made things happen. The result cemented the supporters' commitment and devotion to the Albion but you cannot expect yesterday's passion to become today's passive support.

The fans are not prepared to sit comfortably and keep quiet at the back, but when they rise up and ask difficult questions, they are not demonstrating short memories or ingratitude.

Rather, they are confirming that their commitment remains as strong as ever. Relying on history alone is no way to sustain success and, hopefully, the club will continue to recognise how much fans can contribute today, even if that contribution does not always come as neatly packaged as the club might like.

Steve Coppell was spot-on when he described his job as the toughest challenge in his managerial career. He has got a great deal of confidence-building to do and the next three points will be worth a whole lot more in so many ways.

Roz South edits Brighton Rockz fanzine. Email roz@southspark.co.uk