Leon Knight today boasted he is a better player than his great mate Jermain Defoe.

And Knight aims to prove it in the big shoot-out between the little marksmen at White Hart Lane on Saturday.

Albion's Knight and Tottenham's hot Spur Defoe have been big buddies for years.

Team-mates as kids, they were also together at Tottenham before their careers took different paths.

Defoe has been banging the goals in for Spurs in the Premiership since a £7 million move from West Ham in February and he has forced his way into the England squad.

The goals have dried up for Knight in the Championship after he fired Albion to promotion last season but the free transfer capture from Chelsea has no doubts about who is the best striker.

"I'm not envious of Jermain one little bit," Knight insisted. "He's done well for himself but I feel I am a better player than him and I tell him that to his face.

"He told me he is better than me but I've got more to my game. We can both score goals and do things on the pitch the other can't but I feel I am more effective than him.

"It's an argument we've always had. When we played together it worked and maybe if we linked up again in the future it would work again but as far as I am concerned I'm miles better than him and I'm not joking either.

"He went to West Ham, got into a side that produced young English talent and took his chance. I was at Chelsea where there were a lot of foreigners and they didn't want to take chances on youngsters.

"I had to go back down to come back up. It's not going well for me at the moment but I feel as if I can still get to the Premiership, whether it is with Brighton or not."

Knight and Defoe are both products of the renowned Senrab junior club in London which has produced a stream of top players, including Defoe's Tottenham and England team-mate Ledley King.

"I've known Jermain since I was about eight," Knight said. "We started off playing in the same team together. I speak on the phone to him regularly and we go out now and again.

"We were both at Charlton and Spurs. He went back to Charlton, then to West Ham and I went to Chelsea.

"I didn't want to sign for Spurs. I chose Chelsea instead but I don't regret it."

Knight is £200 out of pocket to Adam Virgo after betting his Albion colleague he would score five more goals than him by Christmas.

He does not intend losing out to Defoe and has already been playing mind games.

"I haven't got a wager with him but I've tried to put a bit of pressure on him," Knight revealed. "When the draw was made I sent a text to him and told him if I am playing it's a shoot-out.

"He's a bit more on fire than me at the moment but that doesn't count when it's the FA Cup and it's a one-off game. I'll be bang up for it."

Despite Knight's boast, he knows how difficult Defoe is to handle and he will be passing on some inside information to the Albion defenders. "He is turning Premiership defenders inside out, so he is going to be dangerous," Knight said. "I'll give them a couple of tips about how to stop him.

"His goalscoring ability is better than Rooney's and at the moment he is one of the top English strikers.

"It's not only him, they have got other very dangerous players as well but we can be effective and cause them problems."