Albion have been told their rivals are getting smarter all the time – as they bid to keep their place among the Premier League big guns.

The Seagulls are hoping for another European campaign going into the last seven games of the season.

They recently posted a record profit of £122.8 million for the 2022-23 campaign but remain in a different financial league to some of the clubs not far ahead of them in the table.

Now chief executive and deputy chairman Paul Barber has spelt out the challenge lying ahead.

He said: “One of things we have to be is smarter than others.

“We can work harder, we can find ways of competing that are different.

“So far we have been able to do that “Every club is getting smarter each year.

“Every club is investing in data, every club is investing in specialist staff who can interpret that data and try and find edges that don’t currently exist for them.

“We cannot afford to stand still.

“That is why we keep investing in our training facilities.

“It is why we keep looking even harder in different ponds (for players), as I call them.

“And investing in staff, which is why succession planning is so important to us.

“If we can hire the best staff and keep the best staff and, when we lose our best staff, have a plan to replace them, our momentum is maintained.

Albion made about £20 million from their Europa League adventure when prize money and ticket sales are balanced against increased player and staffing costs.

Asked about the effect of playing in Europe, Barber said: “It’s better to be in than out.”