Albion's FA Cup hopefuls were today warned: Stoke City can play a bit.

Gus Poyet takes his League One leaders to the Britannia Stadium on Saturday for a fifth-round tie against a Stoke outfit renowned for a basic, rugged approach.

But former Seagulls striker Terry Connor, whose Wolves side were knocked out by the Potters in the last round, has warned it will not just be a case of heading away crosses and long throws.

Connor, who is assistant boss at Molineux, said: “Stoke have got their own style, they play to their strengths and it’s a bit different to other teams in our league.

“Their set pieces are a threat you have got to deal with.

“But that is just one string to their bow. They have other arrows they can use as well.

“They have got good players. They can play a bit. We didn’t prepare for them any different to how we would for other teams.”

Albion met Stoke in the Championship less than five years ago but Connor believes fans can be enthusiastic about the draw.

He said: “Stoke have improved no end as club. It’s a good club with good people running it.

“They are an established Premier League outfit who have laid some strong foundations.

“It will be a good test for Brighton but they have been going well and they will fancy this.”

Stoke have won three and drawn one of their last four games after a wobble around Christmas.

Chris Wood and Matt Sparrow are expected to be fit to compete for places in the Albion line-up but boss Gus Poyet last night admitted Radostin Kishishev is very unlikely to feature after returning from a trip home to Bulgaria.

Albion will kick-off their pre-season programme this summer with a trip to non-League neighbours Burgess Hill.