Albion's on-loan midfielder Keith Andrews has saluted the part played in his career by rival manager Paul Ince.

The pair were team-mates at Wolves before Andrews captained MK Dons under Ince and then played for the Blackpool boss at Blackburn in the Premier League.

Ince pits his wits against Oscar Garcia and the Seagulls at Bloomfield Road today.

Andrews told The Argus: “He’s brilliant, a very good friend of mine. I’ve got a lot of time for him.

“I played with him and then he was my manager at a couple of clubs. He was the one who put the trust in me to give me my Premier League opportunity. It’s something I will always be indebted to him for.

“He’s a top fella and I’m absolutely over the moon to see how well he is doing at Blackpool under fairly strenuous circumstances with the way the club is run there and the budget that he has.

“The way he has got them playing and the tenacity and the team spirit they have just epitomises him. They will be at it, in your face, but then given the opportunity they will be trying to get the ball down and play.

“They have got some very clever players, a good footballing side, and it will be a tough game but a good game for the neutral.”

Andrews, borrowed from Bolton for the season, is glad that Leo Ulloa is fit-again to help Albion combat sticky pitches in the second half of the campaign.

“It’s important that you have plan B up your sleeve,” he said. “Leo coming back into the team does give us that physical presence up front.

“As much as we don’t like to use it all the time, you have to play that little bit more direct because if you risk the ball in the middle third of the pitch and they break on you, when we play as wide and expansive as we do, then it can be very dangerous.

“As the pitches deteriorate in the next couple of months it’s something we will certainly have to look at.”