Play-offs are the priority for Seagulls

5:30pm Sunday 13th January 2013 in Sport By Brian Owen

Ashley Barnes goes close against Derby Ashley Barnes goes close against Derby

Ashley Barnes insists a play-off push is the priority, despite the excitement of the FA Cup.

Albion have won back-to-back league games for the first time since September.

They also have the prospect of home FA Cup tie against Arsenal and Swansea a week next Saturday.

Barnes said: “We are concentrating on the league and getting back into the play-offs, where we want to be.

“The play-offs were our aim at the start of the season – or hopefully in the top two “There is always one team who comes with a run and sneaks in there and hopefully that can be us.

“We’ll think about the cup game around our league games.”

Barnes scored the opener a 2-1 win over Derby yesterday.

He said: “We should have killed the game early on but that was the way it went and fortunately we came through it.”

Comments(14)

Hovite says...
5:44pm Sun 13 Jan 13

Too right, the FA cup is just a competitive training session.

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saraman says...
5:44pm Sun 13 Jan 13

Too right it's a priority Ash. Just to get to the final at Wembley would be a great financial boost. Can't see a top two finishes unless we only drop a few points from here on in. A top six finish as Gus said is there for the taking. Ash doesn't consider himself a mere L1 or Championship player, he's aiming higher. Fasten your seat belts Albion supporters, we're on our way.

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jockithenoo says...
5:48pm Sun 13 Jan 13

The cup run is ok but its the league run that gets you to the premiership.
Just seen that Uruguayan forward Sebastian Fernandez its looking to move to England.
Brighton have been mentioned with Norwich and the saints.
Gus use you're magic if he's good enough.
UTA

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BobbyLaverick says...
6:21pm Sun 13 Jan 13

Other teams appear to be ganging up against the Albion :

"They also have the prospect of home FA Cup tie against Arsenal AND Swansea a week next Saturday".

What a match that will be to referee!

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dave from bexill says...
6:40pm Sun 13 Jan 13

Hovite wrote:
Too right, the FA cup is just a competitive training session.
I can't really see why a cup game will affect our push towards the goal of reaching the play offs. I find the thought of playing Arsenal or Swansea absolutely mouthwatering.

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John Groats says...
6:59pm Sun 13 Jan 13

jockithenoo wrote:
The cup run is ok but its the league run that gets you to the premiership.
Just seen that Uruguayan forward Sebastian Fernandez its looking to move to England.
Brighton have been mentioned with Norwich and the saints.
Gus use you're magic if he's good enough.
UTA
Sebastián Fernández is 5 foot 5 and has a fairly poor goalscoring record so i would be surprised if we signed him

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VegasSeagull says...
7:04pm Sun 13 Jan 13

I find the idea of playing Arsenal or Swansea very lucrative, has to be worth in excess of 450k+ to Brighton.

A win in the next round would be worth another 450k+

The playoffs are our goal but we should not lose sight of the fact that the cup money could help us reach them.

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Hovite says...
8:18pm Sun 13 Jan 13

dave from bexill wrote:
Hovite wrote:
Too right, the FA cup is just a competitive training session.
I can't really see why a cup game will affect our push towards the goal of reaching the play offs. I find the thought of playing Arsenal or Swansea absolutely mouthwatering.
If you have a healthy squad of players it shouldn't make any difference, but if you are relying on the same ones, and playing 3 games in a week it can have an affect on league games and even play off finals.

We don't have to worry about that at the moment though, but we can play the FA Cup just for fun. If we can do that, we may go far in it.

Yep I wouldn't disagree with it being mouthwatering and it is also a welcome break from the Championship.

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fratsomrover says...
9:46pm Sun 13 Jan 13

Winning back to back league games for the first time since September isn't really top two form is it ? We might make the play offs but we not only have to keep winning, but we have to score more goals. In such a tight division, play-off places may be decided by goal difference and it is vital we start winning games by bigger margins, like v Ipswich. We should have scored more yesterday and we will not get many more chances than we did yesterday. Here's hoping Hoskins gets a run and that Ulloah turns out to be the striker we are lacking

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Alfie T says...
10:32pm Sun 13 Jan 13

fratsomrover wrote:
Winning back to back league games for the first time since September isn't really top two form is it ? We might make the play offs but we not only have to keep winning, but we have to score more goals. In such a tight division, play-off places may be decided by goal difference and it is vital we start winning games by bigger margins, like v Ipswich. We should have scored more yesterday and we will not get many more chances than we did yesterday. Here's hoping Hoskins gets a run and that Ulloah turns out to be the striker we are lacking
Your New Years resolution to be positive in 2013 didn't last very long did it!

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PittaPatta says...
8:49am Mon 14 Jan 13

After watching a very poor Hull performance against Sheffield Wednesday the other night, I am convinced that the Championship will continue to ebb and flow in the positional sense of things. All it takes now is a some minor adjusting in the team, and we could well end up soaring into the top two quite easily.
The only thing that the Derby game emphasised on the season to date, is that we continue to be a team of two distinctly different halves. If we can somehow start as we did against the Rams, and then maintain the momentum and attitude into the latter stages of our matches, then anything is possible.
The best teams choose brief periods in games, in which to take their foot off their pace and performance, in order to alter the response of the opposition. This tactic is usually only to recharge for the remainder of the game, and not to simply sit back on a one or two goal lead that might be in place.
For some reason we are not managing our offensive/defensive balance very well. Take Liam Bridcutt out of the team, and we would be struggling imho. Take CMS out of the team :

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raymondo999 says...
9:20am Mon 14 Jan 13

Danny Blanchflower said football is about glory. Those of us who were at the Albion cup final tasted glory. Take note those who think the cup is a waste of space. Getting promotion when you are not ready for it and getting thumped every week is definitely not glory.

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Yogi says...
10:57am Mon 14 Jan 13

The priority should just be to win every game we play, simples.

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fratsomrover says...
11:04am Mon 14 Jan 13

Alfie T wrote:
fratsomrover wrote:
Winning back to back league games for the first time since September isn't really top two form is it ? We might make the play offs but we not only have to keep winning, but we have to score more goals. In such a tight division, play-off places may be decided by goal difference and it is vital we start winning games by bigger margins, like v Ipswich. We should have scored more yesterday and we will not get many more chances than we did yesterday. Here's hoping Hoskins gets a run and that Ulloah turns out to be the striker we are lacking
Your New Years resolution to be positive in 2013 didn't last very long did it!
On the contrary, I'm the eternal optimist Alfie. As I said, here's hoping a new strike force will provide us with what has been lacking this season, more goals !

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