DEAN HAMMOND insists confidence remains high that Albion will soon return to winning ways.

The Seagulls have drawn their last three games and have not won in the last four.

They have in fact won only three of their last 16 games, with nine draws in that sequence.

They were denied an opportunity on Saturday when the match at Blackburn was postponed due to a waterlogged pitch.

With no game on Boxing Day, Albion are not back in action until the visit of in-form Watford on Saturday.

Despite the lack of wins, Hammond is buoyant ahead of a Christmas schedule which includes a visit to Ipswich Town on New Year’s Day.

The midfielder said: “Christmas is always an important period for a team. Unfortunately – or fortunately, whichever we you look at it – we don’t play on Boxing Day and we will be playing catch-up Watford are playing very well and it will be tough. “Ipswich will be another tough game and a good test because it is important for us to keep picking up points.

“Our performances are good. We are picking up points without winning games but confidence is high and we are very close to winning every game we play.

“That is no exaggeration.

“We were on a decent run until we lost at Crystal Palace. As players we know we need to win more games but we are creating chances and looking solid at the back. “It is just a case of putting back-to-back wins together and going from there.”

Albion topped the Championship at the end of September after winning five games on the trot.

They are now down to ninth but the nature of the division is such that just eight points separate Leicester in fifth and Charlton in 18th place.

A series of wins can make such a difference but equally a shortage of them can drop you down the table.

Hammond said: “The league is so close every year. You only need a couple of wins and it puts you right back in there.

“You only have to look earlier in the season when we won five on the trot and that put us top of the league.”

The late postponement of Saturday’s game was annoying for everyone concerned.

The players travelled up to the game on Friday and returned to Sussex on Saturday evening.

Many fans had made it to the ground when they heard that referee Robert Madley had declared the Ewood Park surface unplayable.

It was the only game in the Championship to be beaten by the weather and Albion will have a game in hand on their rivals if the Boxing Day programme goes ahead.

Hammond said: “It was really frustrating. We made the trip up on Friday and were really looking forward to the game.

“But this happens. We wouldn’t want to go there, as a side that likes to pass it, if we weren’t able to do that on the pitch so it could be a blessing in disguise.”