A FOOTBALL fan is a special kind of being.

Regardless of how much heartache they suffer, a good fan will always come back the following week with refreshed optimism that their team can win.

Fans of Brighton and Hove Albion have not been short of low points and none more so than being forced to play home games at Gillingham.

Liz Costa, vice chairwoman of the official Albion supporter’s club, has been going home and away since the early 1980s and said: “We did that because we had to try and work it out and it’s the worst place on earth.

“But everywhere we went the grounds were falling apart.

“At Portsmouth or the old Vetch ground at Swansea you’d go to the toilet and there would be inches of water on the floor.

“It’s the people that make a football club and if you’re lucky the staff and players are there for the same reason as you are and want to make you proud.

“Luckily, that’s what we’ve got at the moment.”

Albion have made a great start in the Championship this season and these days their home, the American Express Community Stadium would grace any division in the world.

Smaller clubs across the county have great appeal too, none more so than Whitehawk at the moment.

If they win their FA Cup replay at their Enclosed Ground on Wednesday they will travel to Everton in the third round.

Then there's the likes of Lewes, at their popular Dripping Pan ground. Eastbourne Borough, Worthing United and Peacehaven and Telscombe are among those fighting for success.

Shoreham have got an intriguing long standing link with Hertha Berlin and Crawley remain the county's second highest club, battling it out in League Two

Ms Costa believes its the fans who have made Albion's success a reality.

She said: “We have the best fans in the country because most other clubs still argue amongst themselves when times are hard.

“We came together and invited people to share their ideas and we picked the best one.

“Just seeing that ground for the first time and walking up to my seat for the first time made me burst into tears because it made me think, “we did this”.

“There was a hardcore of supporters without which there would be no club.”

So what keeps supporters coming back week after week, year after year and decade after decade to support a club?

“It is the camaraderie of the Brighton fans,” said Ms Costa.

“As a woman, I can go and watch football and not feel remotely threatened.

“I still don’t like going into a pub by myself, but I can go to the football and just feel the togetherness of the supporters. "That’s special.”