ALBION boss Gus Poyet has hailed tonight’s showdown against West Ham as a sign of the club’s progress.

The Seagulls take on the Championship promotion favourites in front of a full house at The Amex and the Sky cameras.

The clash comes on the second anniversary of a 2-0 home defeat by Oldham at Withdean under Russell Slade, which dropped Albion to 21st in League One.

West Ham were drawing with Arsenal in the Premier League at the same time but Albion can leapfrog the weighty East Londoners in the table by ending a six-match winless streak.

Poyet said: “We are having a bad spell at the moment and we are two points behind West Ham. How nice is that?

“Go back less than two years, see who we were playing and losing against and now we have the chance to beat West Ham and go one point ahead of them, so that’s great, a good feeling.

“Because you lose a few games people forget very quickly but I don't. I remember when I didn't have a pitch to train on, a TV to watch, a place to show the opposition to the players.

“We couldn't eat properly at the training ground, we had to take snow off the pitch, all the staff together, to be able to train on a quarter of a pitch.

“Now we are ten times better than that and that gives me a chance to be in a position to maybe beat West Ham, which is great.”

Albion are likely to be without Vicente for the second game running.

The Spanish playmaker is struggling to shrug off the thigh injury which sidelined him from the 1-1 draw at Millwall.