Beram Kayal is confident Albion can recover lost ground in the Championship in his first full season at the club.

Kayal, signed from Celtic in January, saw enough last season to convince him the Seagulls can return to the right end of the table.

The Israeli international midfielder told The Argus: "I think you’re going to play against a few teams who are at the top this season who were at the bottom last season and you can see the difference is not massive.

"We beat Derby last season and they were near the play-offs and then we played well against two of the teams that went up, Norwich and Watford, so I feel like the difference is not massive.

"The gap between the top and bottom teams is small and we can catch them. That is why we brought in a few players this season. That is the reason why we brought in new players to fight near the top."

Kayal expects Israel team-mate Tomer Hemed to spearhead Albion's challenge for the play-offs.

Asked what the new No.9 will bring to the club, Kayal said: "Goals and goals and goals."

Albion host successive Europa League winners Sevilla in their final friendly at the Amex on Sunday (4pm).