Gus Poyet was too polite to say it so I had to put the word into his mouth.

You know what I am getting at, the plural of the circular object Albion move around so well when they are at their best.

It is the final test of the promotion credentials of Poyet’s team and they are proving they have what it takes to get the job done.

To be top of the table for 25 weeks is remarkable in itself but how would Albion cope with the pressure mounting as the finishing line draws tantalisingly closer?

We have the answer, on the road where it is more difficult to take maximum points than at fortress Withdean.

They have responded to that rare defeat at MK Dons last month with a hat-trick of 1-0 away wins at Yeovil, Brentford and now Oldham.

Boring, boring Brighton? Hardly but, like all good sides, they have that happy knack of picking up results without playing well.

That was certainly the case at Boundary Park. Paul Dickov, the Oldham manager, is entitled to feel a bit bewildered that his side have been beaten twice this season by the runaway leaders. They were not quite as hard done by as at Withdean, where substitute Fran Sandaza first lifted Albion to the summit deep into stoppage time, but they were undone by replacements again as Poyet acknowledged what difficult opponents they have been.

“We did it with courage,” he said. “With what you say in England you have to have to become champions. It was one of those games when we had to show that.

“Football is quite strange. I don’t think there is a team in the league that has complicated things for us as much as Oldham, home and away, but we have got away with two wins which is incredible. It was harder than Brentford and Yeovil, no doubt.”

To be ultra-critical, in the context of Albion’s stellar campaign, they have made it harder for themselves in the last two matches.

Against Tranmere they needed Craig Noone and Liam Bridcutt to galvanise them from the bench. This time it was Gary Dicker and Ashley Barnes, who pinched the points with a quality finish before being crocked and replaced himself.

Poyet recognised the flaw in the last two performances. He said: “We needed to change the game and that is the only little thing we need to improve. I don’t want to change things because it’s not working, I want to change to go on and score the second goal or hold a result.

“It would have been a perfect game to get a second goal towards the end, because there was plenty of space, but the changes had already been made by then.”

Albion were second-best until the simultaneous introduction early in the second half of Dicker and Barnes. Oldham, hungry to end a nine-match winless run, forced the pace and won most of the 50-50s.

It is credit to the dependable back five which has served the Seagulls so well throughout the season that they were limited in the first half to a 20-yard shot from Dale Stephens which Casper Ankergren tipped behind and a toe-poke from Filipe Morais, blocked with his chest by the consistent Danish custodian.

Morais made the opportunity for himself by eluding both Marcos Painter and Radostin Kishishev. The Portuguese winger, a brief summer trialist with Albion, played as if trying to prove a point in the opening 45 minutes.

Poyet’s half-time talk would have been easier but for a combination of keeper Dean Brill and the crossbar thwarting Glenn Murray’s header from an Elliott Bennett cross.

The same pair linked up on the hour, Bennett winning a header in the box for Murray to volley agonisngly wide from ten yards with an outstretched right boot. It did not matter. Barnes delievered the decisive moment out of nothing seven minutes later.

Oldham were caught off-guard by Murray dropping back from an offside position. He was correctly deemed to be inactive as Barnes struck with an angled left-foot drive.

Barnes was not around to enjoy the fruits of his labour, a victim of his own desire in challenging for a ball under the nose of Poyet. He hobbled back on but was immediately stretchered off before he could assist the defensive effort. Poyet explained: “It was quite painful. We pushed him back on because it was a corner and we needed him there. It’s the first time I’ve seen an injured player smiling in the dressing room!”

Oldham almost wiped the smile off Barnes’ face in a frantic late attempt to earn the share of the spoils their performance warranted.

They did not throw the kitchen sink at Albion but they did throw on up front centre half Jean Yves M’voto, a mountain of a man back on loan from Sunderland. Poyet’s resilient rearguard survived, just, Kieran Lee slotting inches wide from an acute angle in the closing moments.

Albion have now won five in a row, while Oldham have lost five on the trot. There was nothing like as much between the sides as those stats suggest.

Dicker’s summary was as accurate as his distribution. He said: “I think that is the toughest game we’ve had this year away from home so far.

“I know it’s a cliche but they are the sort of games that win you leagues. We have played great football this year but that showed we can mix it up.

“We wouldn’t have won those games a year ago, even six months ago. We have come on leaps and bounds footballing wise and the dirty side of it as well.”

That was another way of describing the word Poyet could not bring himself to say but which will help ensure Albion are having a ball come May.

Albion (4-1-2-1-2): Ankergren; Calderon, Greer, El-Abd, Painter; Kishishev (Dicker 53); Sparrow, Bridcutt; Bennett; Murray, Wood (Barnes 53) (Noone 79). Subs not used: Brezovan, Navarro, Sandaza, Taricco.

Goals: Barnes (67).

Red cards: None.

Yellow cards: Bennett (90) foul.

Oldham Athletic (4-4-2): Brill; Lee, Hazell, Tarkowski, Black; Morais (M’voto 80), Stephens, Furman, White (Evina 61); Reid, Brooke (Tounkara 71). Subs not used: Gerrard, Feeney, Jones, Winchester.

Goals: None.

Red cards: None.

Yellow cards: None.