Romain Vincelot admits he made a painful mistake during his bitter-sweet season with Albion.

Now Crawley’s new signing is looking forward to celebrations on and off the pitch on his return to Sussex.

The Bradford City skipper signed a two-year deal at the Broadfield Stadium as part of a double swoop by boss Harry Kewell yesterday.

He expects to return to living in Brighton with his wife Lena, who is expecting their first baby in late August.

Vincelot was something of a surprise success under Gus Poyet during Albion’s first season at the Amex back in 2011-12.

But he admits he has mixed memories of that season, in which a headed winning goal at home to Coventry was his highlight.

He aims to be playing rather more regularly with Reds in League Two.

Vincelot told The Argus: “Brighton was great – but I left with mixed feelings because I didn’t cope well with my injury.

“I hurt my shoulder in August when we beat Sunderland in the League Cup.

“I went off and was out for a while, but I wanted to get back playing and not have an operation.

“I dislocated it in games and training and I wasn’t 100%.

“I wasn’t mature enough to think ‘I’m not 100% so let’s have the op’. I just wanted to play.

“It got to the stage where, in training, if I was tight to someone and tried to push them off, it would just pop.

“A member of the staff would come on and pop it back in.

“It got to the point where it just made everybody laugh when it happened. But I wanted to be part of it.”

A move back south also helps Vincelot visit his family in Niort, France.

He admits that was not so easy in Bradford, where had a year remaining on his contract.

While not directly a footballing reason for the move, it didn’t help.

“I need to be happy in my personal life to give my best for the team,” he said.

Vincelot realised something exciting was afoot at Crawley when he saw them sign his Bantams mate Dominic Poleon.

Things all came together from there with Kewell’s presence as manager also a factor.

Vincelot said: “I enjoyed Bradford. It’s a big club with a big crowd.

“We got 19,000 or 20,000 every game and League One is a good league.

“We had a play-off final in my first year and that was a great experience.

“Last season was more difficult. We collapsed in January.

“But one-and-a-half years there was great.

“We wanted to move back south and I wanted a new football challenge.

“I knew Crawley were interested and that they want to go back to League One.

“Then I saw Dom had signed for the club and I thought; ‘They really want to do something good this season’.”

Vincelot was a defensive midfielder and occasional left-back in his Albion days. He could be used in central defence by Reds.

It is a position he has come to enjoy given it offers the chance to see the game in front of him.

He has had plenty of adventures since leaving the Amex firstly on loan to Gillingham, then during stints with Leyton Orient, Coventry and Bradford.

His time with the O’s saw him reach a play-off final and score a winning goal at Aston Villa.

He said: “I’ve had lots of experiences since I left Brighton, played a lot of games.

“But otherwise I am still the same player with the same hunger to win things.

“When I retire in four, five, six years’ time, I want to say I won this and that or I got to that play-off final.

“I think that’s what matters.”