Goalkeepers, if not mad, are often a little bit eccentric.

Bruce Grobbelaar and John Burridge were classic examples and Albion's latest No. 1 is no exception.

Scott Flinders looks a straightforward kind of guy but all is not quite what it seems with the lanky young Yorkshireman.

He has a defect out of keeping with his profession and an unusual passion to accompany his unorthodox match-day habits.

The clue came in his response to the first of 20 questions about himself in the Sports Argus, what is on your bedside table?

"A picture of my girlfriend, a control for the TV." Nothing surprising there but, hang on a minute, "and my glasses which I need for reading."

The secret is out. Flinders is visually challenged, a little on the short side when it comes to seeing.

"I found out just before I took my driving test," he revealed. "My instructor got me to read a number plate and I couldn't.

"I was struggling so he told me to get my eyes tested, otherwise I wouldn't pass!"

Being short-sighted is, as opponents have discovered to their cost, no barrier to Flinders.

Optical technology is so advanced nowadays that contact lenses not only provide better than normal sight but they can be removed, thrown away and replaced on a daily basis without the need for disinfecting solutions.

Flinders' biggest fear is a lense falling out during the match.

He is, by the way, not alone in the Albion dressing room. Manager Dean Wilkins discovered that when the seat next to him at a recent review of a match video was too far from the screen for one of his players!

Flinders is, however, probably alone with his favourite hobby. The clue was on that bedside table again, a Gordon Ramsay book.

"I fancy myself as a cook," he said.

"Ever since I did cookery lessons at school I've really enjoyed it.

"Gordon Ramsay is an absolute legend.

I watch or tape all of his TV programmes."

What of those strange match day habits? Albion fans with sharper eyes than Flinders will have spotted that he hugs goalkeeping coach John Keeley at the end of the warm-up.

"I always tend to do that with everybody, even at Crystal Palace, whether it be the sub goalkeeper or the coach," said Albion's on-loan custodian.

This expression of cameraderie emphasises the rapport Flinders has established with Keeley in his two months with the Seagulls.

"John is an absolute credit to the club and I have learnt so much off him in a short space of time," he said.

"I really enjoy the training with John and his commitment. With the backing of Michel (Kuipers), John Sullivan and the other young keepers I think Brighton have got a really promising future goalkeeping wise.

"I am just happy to be playing and the lads have been really good to me."

As well as the hug-in on match day, Flinders always comes back out during the half-time break.

"I got that off Nick Colgan at Barnsley," he explained. "We used to do it last season. We'd come out and mentally prepare for the second half.

"You can sit in the changing room and the manager will be drumming into you what you want from the second half. Sometimes you can drift off. By going out it gets your focus back."

Flinders' focus now is on Albion's remaining three matches, starting at Swansea on Saturday where League One survival, taken for granted by most of us since the victory at Northampton last month, could become a mathematical certainty.

His loan was extended to a third and final month following last Saturday's home defeat by Bradford, a bitter-sweet renewal given that it coincided with the relegation of his home town club Rotherham.

"I always thought I was going back after Saturday's game," Flinders said. "I didn't think they could extend it.

"I am really happy to be staying. I owe a lot to Dean Wilkins and John, especially Dean for keeping me on for the rest of the season.

"The main thing is I want to be playing as many games as possible. I am still only 20 and the more games I play the better it will be to improve my career."

That Bradford defeat was only the 50th appearance of a career full of promise. Short-sighted Flinders may be but you suspect there are going to be many, many more.