Albion fans and one of their favourites enjoyed a joke at Burnley’s expense as they celebrated promotion.

The Seagulls had the last laugh when Dale Stephens, so coveted by the Clarets, signed a new four-year deal at the Amex recently.

Stephens and supporters relished the moment when he went on stage during the promotion parade on Hove Lawns.

But Burnley and their boss Sean Dyche might be able to tell Albion a few things about the facts of Premier League life as things get more serious this summer.

The Seagulls have suddenly joined their North West rivals as a team the bookies can’t wait to relegate.

Prices landed in The Argus office for next season this week, even before Huddersfield had secured their place to face Reading in the play-off final.

Of the 19 runners so far declared, online bookies 888sports.com had Albion as 6-5 favourites to go down with Burnley, despite their efforts this term, next in the betting on 7-5.

Watford, facing another managerial switch, were priced at 7-4, Swansea 2-1, promoted Newcastle 3-1, Crystal Palace fives, Bournemouth sixes and West Brom, looking good in the top half this term, as small as 7-1.

Either Huddersfield or Reading could go to the top of that list as favourites for the drop when they win at Wembley. But that would still leave the bookies saying Albion will go down.

Next season will be Burnley’s fourth in the Premier and it looks like being the first they will not start as shortest odds for the drop.

If there is any back-handed compliment for the Seagulls, it is that they are still odds-against for relegation.

Burnley were 4-5 this time last year, despite going up as champions.

SkyBet also believe Albion will go down. A spokesman for their trading team told The Argus: “Brighton are currently 11-10 to be relegated with us, which is the shortest price of any team.

“However the winner of the play-off will undoubtedly be odds-on to go down.”

Dyche shrugged it off last year in the way Albion will do this summer.

He said: “It’s all about opinion, the idea, the thought, discussion, it’s all part of what the game is.

“We believe in what we do here and we’ll look to affect things during the summer and into the pre-season and we’ll see where we go with it.”

Burnley were able to learn from their experiences of previous seasons in the top flight when they went down.

But that makes them a decent example to have a look at.

Albion as a whole cannot learn from past Premier League adventures, though some individuals can.

But they can certainly learn from the experiences of others. Good and bad.

Especially a team who play in the same formation and who appear to have the same unity enjoyed by the Seagulls.

Chris Hughton has spoken to The Argus about going 4-4-1-1 on occasions next term.

Burnley did something similar as they adapted what had seemed a set-in-stone 4-4-2.

They tended to use an energetic midfielder at No.10 in Jeff Hendrick.

Burnley have also benefited from a bit of Gus Poyet groundwork to use Ashley Barnes on the left.

Barnes learnt how to play that wider role during his time at the Amex, with an eye to join the main striker or track back and mark the opposing right-back.

And, no doubt, those odds might be in a few heads when Albion mix it with the big boys.

“Dyche brought it up all the time,” said reporter Chris Boden of the Burnley Express.

“No one gave them a chance and they used it to their advantage.”

Actually, the bookies twice got it spot-on with Burnley. They were favourites for the drop in 2009-10 and 2014-15 and duly went down both times.

It is the one occasion the odds-setters got it all wrong which both Clarets and Seagulls are currently looking to repeat.