TV sports presenter Des Lynam has urged the people of Brighton and Hove to dig deep to keep the Albion afloat.

A week on from the launch of the club's £2 million appeal, the broadcaster said it was unfair to expect chairman Dick Knight to shoulder the club's financial burden alone.

The Albion has launched the appeal to stay alive as it awaits a verdict on its Falmer stadium plans.

Chief executive Martin Perry said: "There has been a fantastic response and the club is very grateful to every fan who has contributed so far. We hope many more supporters will feel able to help."

Mr Lynam said it was vital fans from across the city continued to contribute.

He said: "It's incredible we have a few individuals like Dick Knight who are supposed to put all the money in and provide all the facilities for football clubs. But it's not a bottomless pit. It can't go on and we can't expect it.

"The club can't generate funds at the moment because of the delay in John Prescott's Falmer decision so we're having to go out to fans with the begging bowl.

"I'll certainly be putting my name to it and will do all in my power to encourage others."

Mr Lynam said that in an ideal world the club's facilities would be provided by the city council.

He said: "When you go to Rome, Milan and other European cities the grounds are laid on by local authorities and rented by the clubs.

"When you consider how important football clubs are in this country to local economies and communities, that's how it should be.

"It's not just about the supporters who go to every game, it's in the interests of the whole city. I know the council is supporting the Falmer bid and owns Withdean but it's simply not big enough.

"We had 30,000 fans at the Millennium Stadium for the play-off final and today we're almost at capacity at 6,500."

Mr Lynam went to his first match at the Goldstone as a boy of ten, 50 years ago, and has been an avid Seagulls follower ever since.

He said: "The club's future hangs in the balance while we await the new stadium announcement.

"If the answer is no, I think we will slump down the league, considering the debts we've currently got and the capacity of Withdean.

"If the answer is yes, we could get 20,000 people through the gates a week easily. With those solid financial foundations I'm sure we would comfortably be a Coca-Cola Championship team and pushing for the Premiership.

"We just need a bit of a financial and moral push from the fans.

"Two million pounds is an ambitious target and I would be very impressed if the club managed to raise that much.