Charlie Oatway has accused some of table-topping Albion's closest challengers of bottling promotion.

The Seagulls' midfielder is upset that managers and fans of other clubs in the Second Division have not given Peter Taylor's triumphant team the credit they deserve.

Albion have already clinched back-to-back promotions, leaving supposedly bigger and richer outfits such as Reading, Cardiff and Stoke trailing in their wake.

They will become only the seventh club to win consecutive championships if they beat Swindon at Withdean on Saturday.

"There have been a lot of people knocking us and the ground and not giving us the credit we have deserved," Oatway said.

"The teams up there with us have been naming the best sides and not even put us in the picture, which is a bit shameful considering what we have achieved with limited resources.

"I've never known a League table to lie. When you get relegated you deserve it and when you go up you deserve it, it's as simple as that.

"To go up you need a lot of ability and bottle. Some of them have obviously lacked in that."

Oatway wants his old club Brentford to pip Reading for the other automatic promotion place.

"It's been managers and certain fans of certain clubs, most of them top sides other than Brentford," he added.

"I hope they go up, because they have limited resources as well and a lot of my old friends are there.

"I find it amazing the ones that have been knocking us, because most of them we have taken good points off."

Wolves were the last club to lift League titles two seasons in a row. They won the old Fourth Division in 1987-88 and the Third a year later.

Albion need a maximum of three points from their last two matches against Swindon and at Port Vale to add their name to an illustrious list which also includes Merseyside giants Liverpool and Everton, Spurs, Ipswich and Oxford.

Cardiff's hopes of snatching the second automatic promotion place vanished last night as fellow play-off candidates Huddersfield came from 2-0 down to hold them to a 2-2 draw.

The reserves are at Brentford tonight in the Avon Insurance Combination League (7pm).

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