Richie Towell has learned how to rein himself in after the 18-month season which caught up with him at the worst possible moment.

The former Dundalk frontrunner reckons he is a wiser man these days as he nears full match fitness.

He could even offer the Seagulls a handy tactical option if he can make sort of Championship impact to which he aspires after overcoming a knee injury.

Towell’s season is, at last, up and running after he scored the winner for the Seagulls under-23s against Leyton Orient in the Checkatrade Trophy.

It will only be a six-month campaign this time. Which is handy because he took the term “2015-2016 season” to extremes – by attempting to play and train from January last year right the way through.

The result may well have been the wear-and-tear type injury which laid him low in the summer.

In the depths of the towering West Stand of the Amex, amid the glow of a calmly taken winning goal in front of 549 diehards, Towell recounted his up and down year to The Argus – and looked forward to turning out in the stadium before a much larger audience.

The Argus:

Richie Towell on his debut against Hull in January

He said: “It was strange. I came back for pre-season and I felt really fit.

“I had done all the tests and done really well in them.

“Then, before the first pre-season game, my knee was sore and it was nagging at me for a while. I got a scan and I had to go on crutches.

“I had a hole in the back of my knee. The cartilage was gone. I had a cyst at the back and quite a lot of fluid on it.

“The specialist said under no circumstances could I train. You have to listen to his advice and go with what they say.

“It was something I had to deal with if I wanted to prolong my career.

“He put it down to wear and tear. In my mind there was no specific thing that had happened to me.

“Going back-to-back seasons was tough. I didn’t really take a break in the summer because I wanted to come back as fit as possible.

“I did so much running and things like that. Probably doing too much killed me as well.

“We came back for pre-season (with Dundalk in 2015) at the end of January so I went from January through to May of the following year.

“I took a couple of days off (in May this year) and then I went back training straight away. I love training. I love being as fit as I can be all the time.

“Now I have had to take a little step back and be clever with what I’m doing and not try and over-use my knee.

“I’ve been watching all the games and I think the lads are flying. Our back four look so solid and I like the freedom that the lads are playing with up front – and they are scoring at will.”

Towell joined up with Albion about a year ago after completing his title-winning, 25-goal season with Dundalk.

Chris Hughton was straight with him when he first signed. He was seen as one for the not-too-distant future rather than the immediate present.

The Argus:

So Towell decided to pick up what lessons he could during the second half of last term and then target the 2016 pre-season as his time to shine. That is what made the timing of the injury so tough to take.

He said: “I spoke to the gaffer when I first came and he said it was going to be difficult to get into the side.

“I knew that because the lads were flying so I targeted pre-season and coming back to have a really good push at getting in the team.

“To get the injury at that time was heartbreaking.”

Still, he is back now, a lot wiser and, before too long, just as fit.

What we saw on Tuesday offered some hint as to the tactical option he could give should Hughton look to change things during the promotion race.

The under-23s’ formation sent out by Simon Rusk against Orient was 4-3-3, designed to ensure a rich supply of midfield ball against the O’s preferred 4-4-2.

But it often looked more like 4-2-1-3 given how advanced Towell was, just behind centre-forward Elvis Manu. When widemen Solly March and Jesse Starkey had to drop back, it looked like the 4-4-1-1 Hughton has sometimes played. Or even 4-2-3-1.

 

Towell explained: “We were playing a three in the middle and that’s what I love. Rusky told me to play as high as I could early on to try and push them back so I was just going on his instructions.

“I was able to get in the pockets and find some good space to get into their back four.

“I have played in a two up front loads of times and I think the gaffer sees that in training so that would be no problem. When I played for Dundalk, I played as a two.

“But I have really good energy and I am a very fit lad. I can get into the box but I’m fit enough to get back so I can do a bit of both.

“I love playing in front of big crowds. I need to still do my bits and pieces to get back to full speed.

“But it’s something I will do. I want to work hard.”