Micky Adams' motivation techniques seem a little strange, but you cannot quarrel with their effectiveness.

Albion have suffered unexpectedly poor League results five times this year.

Almost every one has been accompanied by a bit of a blast from Adams, either towards the team as a whole, individual players or the fans.

On each occasion the result has been the same. The Seagulls have bounced straight back with a win and clean sheet.

Adams branded his troops a "bunch of southern softies" after last Tuesday's setback at Scunthorpe. They made him eat those words in precisely the manner he would have wished, with a polished victory as convincing as the scoreline suggests.

Several of Adams' squad have played under him at more than one club, indicating a loyalty to his methods.

Steve Melton, who marked his first home League start with the first senior goal of his career, was with him at Nottingham Forest.

"He had every right to call us southern softies, even though I am not a southerner!" said Melton. "We didn't work hard enough for him at Scunthorpe.

"I am just pleased we have bounced back. We were first to every ball and kept the tempo up. We have been in second for most of the season. We let it slip lately, but we are confident we can go up automatically."

Paul Watson, Albion's only ever-present this season, is another Adams disciple, having played for him previously at Fulham and Brentford. His dead ball expertise earned the Seagulls the breakthrough they so richly deserved just before the break.

Referee Paul Alcock decided Melton had been fouled on the brink of the box by Justin Whittle, a decision disputed by the visitors.

Dead ball expert Watson doubled their dismay by blasting the resulting free-kick into the roof of the net with his trusty left foot. It was his first goal since November 18 but his seventh of the season, a healthy tally for a fullback.

Adams juggled things around by recalling Kerry Mayo to the starting line-up at leftback, returning Watson to rightback and relegating striker Lee Steele to the bench.

The resumption of the 4-3-3 system which has served Albion so well gave Melton his chance as an attacking midfielder, with Charlie Oatway sidelined by injury.

He seized the opportunity with an accomplished contribution crowned by a well-taken goal.

Paul Brooker's pass released Melton through the inside left channel for an emphatic finish from 15 yards.

Hull, fresh from six wins out of seven, never looked remotely like stretching that sequence. The toothless Tigers had only one effort on target in the entire match, a header from the diminutive Rodney Rowe in the second half kept out by the otherwise unemployed Michel Kuipers.

Adams raised a few eyebrows by signing 38-year-old Phil Stant, but he did just the job Adams wants him to.

The former Lincoln boss was thrown on for the last few minutes in tandem with the transfer-listed Darren Freeman, back in the fold after impressing in the reserves.

Stant marked his brief home debut by stooping to nod in Freeman's header across the face of goal.

Stant replaced Bobby Zamora. He spurned a first-half opportunity to add to his 21-goal tally when the hard-working Gary Hart was brought down just inside the area by Jon Whitney.

Zamora's tame penalty was more like a backpass for Paul Musselwhite, later forced off by a recurrence of ankle trouble.

It hasn't diminished Stant's early impressions of Albion's prolific young marksman. "The more I work with him and see him play the more I like him," said Stant.

"You learn by your mistakes and he will get more goals this season. Bobby would be the first to say the result is more important than him getting on the scoresheet."

Albion's upbeat display mirrored the pre-match mood of Withdean's next-best crowd. Fans in the south stand, criticised by Adams for booing at the end of the previous home game against York, gave him an enthusiastic welcome.

Stant said: "A lot of clubs don't play in front of a full house. The supporters here are tremendous when the team is attacking and they have got a big part to play in the promotion push.

"They can make the difference between a 1-0 and 0-0."

Three of Albion's next four games are at Withdean beginning with Barnet, the sort of side they have been slipping up against.

It would be a shame if they wasted one of the most complete performances of the season.