Shane Duffy can smell the importance of the next two matches at the Amex, even with a broken nose.

The visits of Reading today and Newcastle on Tuesday night will not be decisive in the promotion race, but they will influence the circumstances Albion and their defensive rock find themselves in ahead of the final dozen games of the season.

The back-to-type 2-0 win at Barnsley, followed by a free week of preparation, has set the Seagulls up for their twin tests.

Duffy said: “They are big games. It would have been better if we had beaten Ipswich as well, but seven (points) out of nine going into these big games isn’t bad.

“It’s difficult to maintain it for so long, through 46 games. We had a minor blip, but that (Barnsley) win was huge.”

Duffy, 6ft 3in of Irish beef, does not need much protection. No mask was required at Barnsley for the snout damage he sustained in the 1-1 draw with Ipswich at the Amex four days earlier.

“I didn’t need one in the end,” he said. “It was just good to get through the game. I went to see a specialist on Monday and he said it was all right. It didn’t need re-setting or anything.

“We played well. We hadn’t had a clean sheet for a while, so that was a positive, particularly away from home.”

Duffy, defensive partner Lewis Dunk, Dale Stephens and several members of Albion’s women’s team spent two hours signing autographs for hundreds of supporters at the Amex this week.

Those fans will be breathing more easily if Albion can land a seventh home league win out of eight against Reading, who have unexpectedly excelled under a former master of Duffy’s art, Jaap Stam.

“Maybe I’m not surprised,” Duffy said. “They are a big club. You didn’t know which way it was going to go, with a new manager coming in, but they have done well.

“They have played some good football and they are up there on merit. It is a completely different team from last year.

“He (Stam) was a big player for (Manchester) United, a legend in the game. Now he has taken that on into his managerial career.”

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Duffy is familiar with a couple of members of Stam’s squad. Paul McShane, pictured above, and Stephen Quinn are Republic of Ireland colleagues.

McShane is fondly recalled by Albion supporters as the scorer of a winning goal against Crystal Palace.

The central defender returned from injury as an unused substitute in Tuesday’s 1-0 defeat at promotion rivals Huddersfield, but midfielder Quinn is still sidelined.

“I have been in quite a lot of squads with Macca and Quinny,” Duffy said. “They are good players. Macca has played the majority of the season. Quinny has been out, but they are both big players.

“The ones that have come in have obviously done a good job and they have worked around it. They have got some good players and they are a threat.

“It is one of those cliche six-pointers, because it can get you away from them.”

Duffy could not wait to get away from Blackburn Rovers in the summer transfer window, when he became Albion’s record buy for a downpayment of around £3.5 milion.

The April Fool’s Day visitors to the Amex remain in turmoil and have just sacked Owen Coyle, replacing him with Tony Mowbray.

“It’s been tough,” Duffy said of his former club. “They have sold a lot of players and he (Coyle) didn’t get much of a budget. It would have been a tough job for anyone and it will be difficult for anyone unless they change it. I got on well with him. He was quite good for me. I feel sorry for him.”

Duffy was apologetic about the harrowing end to his Rovers career, which was accompanied by a flurry of own goals and red cards.

It did not start too well for him at Albion either, defeat on his debut at Newcastle followed by another on his home bow against Brentford in September.

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Since then he has established with Dunk a powerful and dominant duet, arguably the best of its kind in the Championship.

Manager Chris Hughton said: “I’m always very careful and wary about where I put any individual players as regards the league, because everybody has different opinions.

“All I can say is as a two they have worked very well. I’ve been delighted with what they have given us. There are relationships all over the pitch that are instrumental in getting good results. Certainly those two have been.

“They are both 25 years of age, both been involved in a lot of games. Lewis has also played a lot of Championship football.

“Even with Connor Goldson, who is slightly younger, when we took him he’d played 100 league games at Shrewsbury.

“You can have players not far off that age that would only have played a handful of league games.”

Duffy and Dunk are sure to stay an integral part of Hughton’s plans if they reach the Premier League.

Defeating this evening the side Duffy scored his first Championship goal against during a loan spell with Yeovil from Everton will aid that ambition.

It would also simultaneously remove any sniff of a top two finish for Reading.