Gus Poyet has targeted another sackful of points over Christmas to reinvigorate Albion’s chances of promotion from the Championship.

The Seagulls took seven points out of nine under Poyet’s command over the festive period last season and they were unbeaten in the league and FA Cup the year before.

Albion visit Reading on Boxing Day, Coventry on New Year’s Eve and entertain Southampton on January 2 with Poyet keen to bounce back from consecutive 1-0 defeats against Burnley, when they had nine men, and at Middlesbrough.

Poyet said: “I think it’s always important because it’s a short period of time, plenty of games, and you can quickly go up or down, so it’s about winning and we need to win.

“We were on a good run. It’s difficult to take the last game away from the run because it’s part of the Championship and it counts as a losing game.

“We need to get back to winning ways as soon as possible so that everybody forgets about the last two games.

"I like this period. We did very well last year and the year before, so let’s see if we can do more or less the same.

"We have got the quality and capacity to win every single game. Of course, there are are better teams like Southampton on top of the rest and two or three that are stronger, West Ham and Middlesbrough.

"The problem is we are still missing a little bit of strength and consistency in key moments of the game, so we are looking for that."

Albion, in tenth, are a point behind seventh-placed Reading who have crept up the table with five wins out of seven.

Poyet warned: "They are a good team. I like them a lot. They are organised, they know the way they play. It’s clear, they do it all the time. They are consistently getting better.

"It’s a tough place to go and play. Let’s hope it is a normal game, no accidents, no mistakes from players or referees, and then we’ll see what happens."