Albion boss Chris Hughton says there will be no repeat of the drastic overhaul of the squad that marked his first summer in charge.

But he has warned the club will have to recruit smartly again to go one better after losing out in the play-offs for the third time in four years.

The Seagulls will switch from plan A for the Premier League to plan B – a sixth season on the trot in the Championship – following Monday’s 3-1 exit on aggregate against Sheffield Wednesday.

Hughton had a hectic close season last year after inheriting a struggling side and steering them clear of relegation.

He told The Argus: “We brought in nine players, so certainly it will be less.

“We also recruited well in January with (Jiri) Skalak and (Anthony) Knockaert. Those two players have been excellent for us.

“So the recruitment will be less but we’ve got to endeavour to keep growing, keep freshening up. There are some very good teams in this division, some very good teams coming down.

“Sheffield Wednesday have brought in Premier League players to get where they are, so we will certainly have to recruit well again.”

Hughton has urged a “distraught dressing room” in the wake of Monday’s 1-1 draw in the second leg at the Amex to use the double deflation of missing out first to Middlesbrough for automatic promotion, then to Sheffield, as a driving force for next season.

He said: “It hurt so much because they put so much into it. We’ve been there all season.

“What they’ve got to do is use this feeling to go again next season. They’ll be fine, they’ll dust themselves down.

“It’s normal stuff. There’s going to be a team in the play-off final on Saturday week that will lose and that team will have to pick themselves up to go again next season. It’s part and parcel of the game.”