ON MONDAY at the Amex, exactly a year after Albion last visited Middlesbrough, they hosted Derby in pursuit of promotion.

The scoreless draw at Middlesbrough at the end of last season stretched the Seagulls' winless finish to seven matches, a miserable conclusion to a bleak campaign rescued from disaster by Chris Hughton after relegation loomed large under Sami Hyypia.

Successive seasons in the play-offs seemed a distant memory. Reverse gear had been engaged.

A year on, the promotion-deciding return to Middlesbrough highlights a rapid recovery to rude health launched by some soul-searching by owner/chairman Tony Bloom and chief executive Paul Barber.

They conducted a root and branch review of what had gone wrong, why momentum had been so badly lost, and set about putting it right.

Barber had begun a process when he was appointed four years ago of making Albion 'Premier League Ready'.

Redundancies, the changing of suppliers, ensured the club became leaner and meaner.

The next step in creating a top-flight infrastructure, the training complex and academy in Lancing funded again to a large extent by Bloom, should have been another step forwards.

Instead it coincided with a big step backwards on the pitch.

Playing and non-playing members of staff had all been based previously at one site – the Amex.

Bloom and Barber identified a need to restore unity, to have everyone pulling together.

A bonus scheme was introduced, offering incentives for every employee, from stewards through to senior executives.

Bloom and Barber also targeted the creation of a high-performance culture across all departments.

Plenty of care and attention was given to the food provided for the players at the training ground.

This was extended to the stadium, where healthy breakfasts and lunches became available free of charge to help motivate all members of staff.

Resolving back-up issues went hand in hand with making sure Hughton had all the tools he needed to improve Albion's fortunes on the field.

A revamp of the recruitment team, malfunctioning under David Burke during Hyypia's reign, had already yielded the influential capture halfway through last season of Beram Kayal from Celtic.

The improvement gathered pace last summer under Burke's replacement, Paul Winstanley.

Tomer Hemed, Liam Rosenior, Gaetan Bong, Jamie Murphy and Connor Goldson have all made significant contributions to the promotion challenge.

Albion now have a coherent structure in place. Hughton, who brought with him his trusted chief scout Ewan Chester, identifies what he wants and makes the final decisions.

Winstanley leads the scouting and analysis, Bloom utilises his own sources to compare the relative qualities of targets and decide how much should be spent.

Barber, with his network of high-level contacts, acts as the deal-sealer.

The process worked well again in the January transfer window with the captures of wingers Anthony Knockaert and Jiri Skalak, both of whom have starred in Albion's recent surge.

The medical staff, now headed by former rugby man Adam Brett, was also overhauled.

Albion have suffered long-term injuries to key players during the season but these were unavoidable, contact or muscle injuries during matches.

A combination of the expertise of Brett and his team and improvements in the medical facilities has led to more players being available more often in comparison with previous seasons.

The sense of togetherness has been striking for Rosenior. He said: "It's the team ethic. Not just the football playing staff, the coaching staff, the chefs – they put everything into what they do.

"Dee the tea lady puts everything into what she does every day, the groundsmen – everyone at the football club is pulling together and that is one of the reasons we have been so successful.

"The recipe for success at any football club or organisation, no matter what your role, is pulling together."

A further unifying force – which nobody in their worst nightmare wanted – five games into the season was the Shoreham Airshow tragedy.

The club and the local community joined together in an outpouring of grief for the perished and support for their families and friends.

One of the victims, Matt Grimstone, was a member of the groundstaff at the Lancing training ground.

There would be no finer tribute to his memory than Premier League players practising their skills on the pitches he helped to prepare.