Chris Hughton deserves to still be Albion manager, regardless of where they finish in the Premier League next season.

I suspect he will be, because owner-chairman Tony Bloom is a man of similar integrity.

Hughton is about as bomb proof at the moment as it is plausible to be in such a precarious occupation.

Suppose the worst happens, in 13 months time the Seagulls do a Middlesbrough and go straight back down.

Who better to have in charge than somebody who in four full seasons in the Championship has two titles - yes Albion will - and two top six finishes?

 

Not that I think it is going to come to that. Hughton and his staff, Bloom and his executives, and the players that have got Albion promoted have enough about them to help ensure Albion can survive.

Of course, it will be extremely tough and there will be casualties. The side which starts the Seagulls' first ever Premier League game on August 12,13 or 14 will differ from the one that sent them up at the Amex on Easter Monday.

Shrewd recruitment will again be essential as the ambition, at least to begin with, reverts to the realistic expectation when Albion were competing in the Championship at Withdean. Finishing fourth-bottom.

The Argus: The difference between then and now is they have cash to compete. Bloom will not risk everything by authorising a crazy spending spree but it is safe to assume the club record fee of around £4 million for Shane Duffy (above_ in August will be broken more than once.

Bloom was prepared to pay considerably more than that in the Championship for Alex Pritchard before the attacking midfielder signed for Norwich instead.

Albion are entering the Premier League in a position of strength because of Bloom's riches and foresight. He has been plotting for this moment since they moved into the Amex six years ago.

They still need to spend around £5 million to bring the stadium up to top flight standard. Unlike a number of their promoted predecessors, however, they possess both a home almost fit for purpose and a training complex superior to those of many of the clubs they are about to join.

That allows investment to be concentrated on the playing side, rather than infrastructure.

Clinching promotion early, when there was still three weeks of the season left, has given Albion a head start.

Planning is already well under way. Before then, head of recruitment Paul Winstanley was travelling across Europe scouting players on the transfer target list.

The list of players Albion could potentially land will have expanded considerably now they are going up.

Hughton's line-up at Norwich on Friday, with Jamie Murphy in a No.10 role, could be a taste of things to come in terms of tactics.

Operating with three central defenders and wing-backs, or a 4-2-3-1, are the most popular formations in the Premier League.

It is unlikely Hughton will persist with his bold Championship policy of 4-4-2 week in, week out next season, particularly away from home.

Against superior quality, Albion would become vulnerable to being overrun in midfield.

Maintaining their exceptional form at the Amex will be crucial to the chances of survival. Burnley look like staying up entirely due to their record at Turf Moor.

Last season, Bournemouth's first in the Premier League, they finished 16th with eight wins at the Vitality Stadium, only two away from home.

West Brom and Stoke, both regarded longer-term by Hughton as role models for Albion, have established themselves in the Premier League primarily with strong home records.

The longer the stay, the more chance there is to develop, to become a club capable of occasionally leaving the big boys with a bloody nose in their own backyards.

The Argus: Newcastle were 11th when they sacked Hughton (above) four months into his first season as a manager in the Premier League. Coincidentally, he steered Norwich to the same position by the end of his first full season.

The idea that Hughton is a very good Championship manager but not quite good enough for the Premier League is a myth.

Promotion is not the end of the story. There is still plenty of mileage left yet in the dignified Hughton-Bloom partnership.