Albion's out-of-contract aces are concentrating on promotion, not their futures.

Boss Chris Hughton says reaching the Premier League is the focus of their attention as they head for Leeds (5.30).

No.1 David Stockdale, fellow goalkeeper Niki Maenpaa, injured left-back Gaetan Bong and midfield duo Dale Stephens and Steve Sidwell all have deals which expire at the end of the season.

The Seagulls hope to be in the Premier League by then and Hughton believes that is the overriding priority of the players after a one-year contract extension for skipper Bruno was revealed this week.

Hughton said: “They are processes that go on week in, week out here and we are very much attending to them. With Bruno, he almost hasn’t missed a game for two seasons, so it wasn’t a difficult one.

“He’s our captain, his level of performance hasn’t dropped in that period and he’s a great example to the squad and particularly to the young players we have.

“As regards any other contracts, that is something we are always very much dealing with behind the scenes. Players always want to be settled, but they’ve also got at this moment a great desire to want to do well this season.

“I think probably at this moment that will take over everything. We certainly wouldn’t have any players that don’t want to finish this season really well and give ourselves an opportunity to try and get promotion. I think that would be certainly the most important thing on their minds, but we are aware that players like to be settled.”

Born and bred Leeds fan Stockdale and Stephens will be central figures in Albion’s bid to extend an impressive record at Elland Road.

They have won four of their last five visits and the last five meetings betweens the teams overall.