10:30am Saturday 31st July 2010
By Brian Owen
Long-serving Gary Hart does not even want to start comparing Albion’s squad to those of yesteryear.
But the striker who signed back in 1998 reckons this could be one of those seasons he remembers for the right reasons.
It should not be a slog against relegation, which he has experienced with both happy and unhappy endings.
It will almost certainly not be a slog through the Withdean mud, which he can remember as well.
A fourth promotion with the Seagulls? It is a bit early to say but the signs are, he feels, pretty good.
Hart finally put pen to paper this week on a contract which was more or less a fait accompli for most of the summer.
This will be his 13th season in the blue and white.
He is not the oldest or most experienced player in the ranks. Having said that, in Jake Caskey the Seagulls have a player who had not even started school when Hart joined Albion from Stansted.
So how do the current crop shape up?
“Every squad is different,” Hart said. “You go back to the old days and it was totally different to the football we play now and the team we have got now.
“We play it on the floor now and try and play football. Back in those days we used to lump it. It’s totally different but the squad looks decent.
“The gaffer has got his eye on other players that we are massively aware of, that were maybe here last season as well, so it’s looking good.”
Back in the old days, Albion established Withdean as a ground other teams feared.
Now the changing rooms are better, the pitch is unrecognisable and the home form has, like the away end, well and truly gone west.
Over recent seasons the surprise has not been when the away team has picked up three points.
It has been after the game when their manager has trotted out that old cliche: “This is never an easy place to get a result.”
Are you sure about that, boss?
Hart admits: “I can’t see any excuses here. It has been like a fortress here before. You can do it again.
“I know the fans are fed up being here but they have got to get behind us and we have got to get behind them and produce results here.
“The last two, three, four seasons have been a joke. No one knows what has changed, If I knew I’d go and tell the gaffer.
“If you get your head right you can play anywhere. It doesn’t matter if you are playing in front of ten fans or 65,000 at the Millennium Stadium.
“You’ve just got to get your head right and play the game.”
So how about that class of 2010/11 then after a tough few weeks back at work?
Hart admitted: “Everyone was tired because pre-season is like that but we’ve calmed it down a little and are doing more football in training.
“We go into the season on a high.
“We’ve brought in some decent players and the gaffer is obviously going to bring some other players in as well so it’s good.
“Aberdeen will be a competitive game. Everyone is playing for places so it won’t be one of these normal friendlies.
“It’s a week before the season starts so it will be more like a proper game.”
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