1:00pm Monday 8th March 2010
By Andy Naylor
Jimmy McNulty has been told he must get stronger to become a daddy of the Albion defence.
McNulty, pictured, is celebrating becoming a father but he has lost the left-back spot to Marcos Painter.
The best he can hope for is a place on the bench again at Colchester tonight, as Painter has played in every league game since arriving on loan from Swansea in January for the rest of the season and could even become a permanent challenger for the position.
Boss Gus Poyet said: “We have been excellent and he (Painter) has given us that strength at the back that I was trying to convince Jim McNulty that he needs to get to be the left-back for the next four, five, six or ten years at Brighton.
“Marcos has got experience. You know what you are getting and we are pleased with him, so it’s another decision for the manager.
“It’s not going to be easy. Slowly everybody is seeing we are getting better but we need to balance whether that is enough or not for next year.”
Albion, still five points clear of the relegation zone following Saturday’s results, will climb to 14th if they complete a hat-trick of victories tonight in front of the Sky cameras.
Colchester have been given an extra incentive after two of their promotion rivals dropped points at home.
Leeds could only draw with Brentford at Elland Road and Swindon, Saturday’s visitors to Withdean, were thumped 4-0 by Bristol Rovers at the County Ground.
The notoriously poor pitch at the Weston Homes Community Stadium will at least not be a mudbath tonight after the drying weather and Poyet will not be using it as mitigation.
He said: “We know how strong Colchester are, we know how big they are. We need to adapt to the pitch and we have done that very well in the past, at Stockport and Walsall, so I don’t think we”ll have an excuse.”
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