There is a standing joke among Albion’s former Spanish Armada.

If Andrea Orlandi, David Lopez and company ever start a Whatsapp group chat at what they might refer to as dinner time, they know Bruno won’t be online.

He will be getting ready for bed – or maybe asleep already.

The Albion skipper, on course to beat his own record as the club’s oldest outfield ever-present, has revealed a few of his tricks of the trade as he keeps going strong at 36.

Ten hours of sleep is among them, along with recovery between matches, a good diet and an active life during the close season.

There is no one secret ingredient to a condition which has kept him not only playing but playing well in one of the most physically and mentally demanding leagues.

The Argus:

Bruno has to be in great shape to get up and down the touchline

But don’t expect him to be tucking into pizza after training.

Or staying up to anything like the sort of times his Spanish compatriots usually manage.

“It’s about small details,” he said. “It’s about trying to do everything right – food, resting, working.

“They are small details but, when you put them all together, they give you a little bit more energy and fitness.”

Sleep is pretty key – including a siesta when possible.

“I’m doing so many things maybe I don’t have enough time,” he said.

“But of course I try to sleep every day, no longer than 20 minutes. It’s a nice habit as well, especially when you have got kids because it gives you a little bit of extra energy.

“I try to eat really healthy – no sugars, no fats.

“I sleep quite a lot, at least nine or ten hours. We don’t give enough importance to sleep but it is really important to us.

“There a few things I try to follow and, until now, it’s working.

“I think now it is quite controversial with Pep Guardiola’s ways at Manchester City.

“There are a few things he spoke about, like no sex after midnight.

“Or pizzas. In Spain we take great care with food. There’s no chance to have pizza on the coach or at the training round. It’s just to put all this stuff together.

“When you are young you can eat whatever. When you are older, during the game maybe you feel really good but after the game it is harder and slower to recover.

“Now you need a couple of days to get fresh again.

“If I’ve played and I then have got a night out, I’m gone!”

The regime includes a self-imposed internet curfew.

Bruno, who is active on both Facebook and Instagram, explained: “Sometimes it can be difficult because you want to do other things.

“Now, you’ve got iPhones, iPads things like that.

“From an hour before I go to bed, I try not to check the phones or iPads or all this kind of things.

“I find that makes it easier for me to fall asleep.”

Bruno took time to adapt to different routines and methods, both in terms of matches and training, when he arrived in England four-and-a-half years ago.

He spoke about how much harder it was to get his muscles warmed up in the really cold weather up on the hill at the University of Sussex training ground, having played his previous six seasons in Valencia (average November temperature 13degC) and Almeria (17degC).

The Argus:

Bruno was used to sunnier climes working alongside players such as Ever Banega at Valencia

The move to modern facilities at Lancing has clearly helped him.

He remains impressed by the “tough” nature of the Brits – even in the so-called soft south.

That does not just mean big defenders who whack opponents. He is talking about people like you and me he sees around him carrying on, day in and day out, with sniffles and coughs.

Kids playing football in the park in mud and rain. His son’s mates attending school in shorts all year round.

Bruno’s own guard against colds and sniffles is a serving of manuka honey each morning.

The Argus:

Bruno is pleased to see his two children eating healthily

But there are other facets of British football he still finds foreign.

“I’m quite surprised how the players eat here in England,” he said. “In Spain, Italy or France, we try to eat more carbs the day before the game and game day.

“Here in England, people are quite obsessed with protein. Energy comes from carbs. For me, it’s more carbs two days before the game and game day – not protein.

“There are a few things that help me. We have recovery booths, ice baths, skins, rest, some massage.”

In the summer he plays futevolei, a combination of football and volleyball on the Barceloneta beach in Barcelona, and, like his former team-mate David Lopez, he enjoys padel.

“I try to keep always doing something,” he said of his close-seasons.

“I have set up a gym at my home in Barcelona to keep doing stuff.

“It is good to stop for maybe a couple of weeks but, after a couple of weeks, you need to start again.

“When you are over 30 it is when your power starts to go down and you have to work harder. I’m six years into that already!”

And then there is the family background – education, knowing what is right.

Bruno’s dad Manel was a doctor and still undertakes aid trips to Mozambique.

Although he never followed suit, Bruno has that influence. With his dad, he organised a charity football match, involving top-flight Spanish players, and a concert in his home town a few years ago.

He added: “I always had nice habits at home, which is quite important. It is always about education and that is what I am trying to do.

“My son is already checking all the fat and the sugars in food and he is eight years old.

“He’s looking at the labels and saying ‘Daddy that is 10%’.

“We have a responsibility, for example with my son and my daughter, to show them to eat right.”

And to get to bed on time – and dream of the Premier League.