Albion manager Martin Hinshelwood is "disappointed and hurt" after the Seagulls' pre-season preparations suffered a shock setback.

They were thumped 4-2 by Second Division newcomers Cheltenham in their penultimate friendly.

It could have been even worse on a miserable night for Albion at Whaddon Road. They were 4-0 down after 61 minutes before Shaun Wilkinson and a Robbie Pethick penalty salvaged some respect.

Hinshelwood admitted: "I'm disappointed and hurt, because I hate losing football matches.

"But I would rather it happens now than when we go to Burnley for our first League game.

"We were not mentally strong enough at times in our defending.

"I can give them a bit of credit for coming back from 4-0 to 4-2 and then hitting the bar, but that is not good enough for me so it's something for me to think about."

Croatian centre half and trialist Marijan Kovacevic wrecked his chances of earning a contract with a poor performance and he was hauled off in the second half.

Hinshelwood will now step up his hunt for an experienced replacement for the retired Simon Morgan.

He may also decide to stick with his favoured 4-4-2 formation for Albion's Division One campaign after continuing the experiment of playing 4-3-3, used in last Saturday's 0-0 draw at Leyton Orient.

"I'm not a lover of 4-3-3," Hinshelwood said. "It has given me food for thought.

"You always learn more when you are beaten. At Orient we were disappointing in the second half, but it was hot and you gloss over it a wee bit. When you lose you cannot gloss over it. If it's not right we have got to sort it out."

One bright spot for Albion was a fine individual display by winger Paul Brooker.

"I thought Paul was outstanding," Hinshelwood said. "He has just got to believe in his ability."

Albion will be boosted by the return of star striker Bobby Zamora from minor groin surgery in Saturday's final warm-up match at Bournemouth.

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