Wayne Bridge has claimed Albion should have been fighting for automatic promotion from the Championship.

But the defender on loan from Manchester City is confident they can still reach the Premier League via the play-offs.

The Seagulls led the table early on and have let slip a lot of results from winning positions.

Bridge, speaking to the BBC’s regional football show Late Kick Off, said: “After the first few games, the way we were playing, I would have been hopeful definitely to go up automatically. But I know that this league is such a tough league that anyone beats anyone.

“I felt going into all the games that we could beat whoever we were playing and, when you look back at the season and the points that we have dropped where we have conceded late goals and should have won, really we should be up there, but that’s football.

“We’ve had a couple of times when we’ve nicked points at the end of the game, but we’ve got a chance now of getting in the Premier League and the way the players are and the way we play I think we can go into every game being positive that we can win it.”