ALBION boss Chris Hughton insists the race for automatic promotion to the Premier League is still wide open.

The second-placed Seagulls remain embroiled in a ding-dong battle with Newcastle in the top two spots in the Championship.

They are six points clear of in-form Huddersfield in third.

Hughton said: “We’ve been aware of them all season. It’s impossible for us not to be and it’s not just Huddersfield.

“There are a group of teams below us at the moment that are all capable of going on very good runs, because of the good qualities they have got.

“I know there is that small gap between Newcastle, ourselves and the others, but it’s certainly not just about two teams, it’s about a group of teams.

“And any of them can finish in that top two. That’s why we have to be conscious of them and we have to be guarded.”

Albion’s next two home games after Ipswich’s visit tonight are against fourth-placed Reading and Newcastle at the end of the month.

Huddersfield, recent winners against Albion and Leeds, have two more key home matches looming, against Reading next week and Newcastle, following Manchester City’s FA Cup fifth round visit on Saturday.