If you asked Kerry Mayo to name the worst ground he has played at during his long and distinguished Albion career, Brentford would feature near the top of the pile.

There are grubbier places to go in terms of facilities - Withdean for one - but there is surely nowhere to compare with Griffin Park in terms of a grim playing record.

Long-serving Mayo and the Seagulls have suffered horribly on his three previous visits to a ground renowned for having a pub at each corner.

They have performed like stumbling drunks on each occasion in a trio of defeats, with ten goals conceded and none scored under three different managers.

Mayo's horror hat-trick began in August 1998 under Brian Horton. He was substituted in the second half, with the 2-0 scoreline already settled by a Glen Thomas own goal and a second goal gifted by the ex-Gillingham centre half to Andy Scott inside the opening 18 minutes.

Thomas never recovered from that nightmare afternoon. Fortunately Albion did following their next stinging by the Bees.

That was in January 2002 when Peter Taylor's title-bound team were thumped 4-0. Former Seagulls and current Reading duo Steve Sidwell and Ivar Ingimarsson were on the scoresheet than night, together with Ben Burgess.

Mayo and the side topping the table under caretaker Bob Booker must have thought lightning could not strike twice when Albion made their last trip to Brentford in October 2003.

Wishful thinking. They lost 4-0 again and it could have been worse. Steve Hunt, now part of Reading's Premiership line-up with Sidwell and Ingimarsson, scored two penalties and had another saved by Michel Kuipers.

So Mayo could be forgiven for feeling a little trepidation when he walks onto the pitch tomorrow.

It won't be like that, though, because he is determined to reward at last the army of Albion fans accustomed to the short but fruitless journey to west London.

"You remember grounds, whether you win lose or draw," Mayo said. "It's more on the day, when you turn up and go out on the pitch with the lads to see what footwear you are going to use.

"It sort of dawns on you then the last time you were there. I remember not just being beaten but being beaten heavily every time but we are professional enough not to worry about that and get on with the job in hand. It's a statistic we want to put right.

"It's only an hour up the road and we always get great support there.

"I know we'll have the two tiers behind the goal. Our away fans are different class and they will be again I'm sure.

"We need a better result this time, not just for the supporters but ourselves as well.

You look below us and we are four points clear of relegation but we are only two points from mid-table.

"We are thinking positively and looking up rather than down. Three points on Saturday will get us right back up into mid-table again."

Albion's League position and lack of goals are grounds for concern but there is not much wrong with the defence Mayo has been part of at left-back.

They have kept three clean sheets in succession in League One, a sequence they will be looking to continue at Brentford and away to Leyton Orient, another of the relegation candidates, next Tuesday.

"Anybody can beat anybody in this division and the likes of Brentford and Orient are no different," Mayo warned.

"They are down there, they are going to be battling, so it might not be an easy game. It certainly won't be pretty, we know that much.

"We've received the reports on Brentford, so we know how they are going to play, a lot of long balls, so there will be a lot of individual battles. I think we'll have to get the old crash helmets on!"

Mayo won't mind an aerial test, as long as he is not crashing to defeat at Brentford again.