It used to be 'Don't take them to the stadium' but now Bob Booker loves showing off Brighton and Hove Albion's home

It is not so long since the former assistant manager was being told to take visitors anywhere but Albion’s home ground as he showed them the sights.

That was in his days as sidekick to manager Micky Adams, when the Seagulls were building something special against the odds at Withdean and the Amex was a distant dream.

Booker’s longer-term goal back then was to be in the technical area at what was commonly referred to as Falmer Stadium when the club eventually moved.

He didn’t make it – sacked along with Russell Slade less than two years before it opened.

But he sees plenty of the stadium these days, turning up at 10am on a Saturday to give tours, host 300 guests in a hospitality lounge and work as co-commentator on the club’s in-house match videos.

Booker enjoys legendary status with today's opponents Brentford, as well as Sheffield United. But his home has been Sussex ever since he joined Adams at Albion 16 years ago and he has a wealth of stories.

“When I do the tours now there is definitely a new breed of supporter who come to the Amex, people who never supported Brighton,” he said.

Bob Booker and Micky Adams during their managerial heyday at Withdean

“That shows the power of the club now to attract people, which is fantastic.

“But there’s still that hardcore who were at Withdean and it’s great to talk to them about the promotions there because they were special days which will live with me for the rest of my life.

“Dick Knight did a phenomenal job as chairman but we had nothing.

“Micky would say ‘We’ve got a player coming down from Arsenal or somewhere, go and meet him’.

“I said I’d bring him to the training ground and he say ‘No, no, no, don’t do that - take him to The Grand for coffee or something, walk him along the seafront’.

Booker celebrates during the great escape from relegation in 2009

“I’d say ‘Alright then gaffer, I’ll take him to Withdean’.

“And he’d say ‘No, no, no, don’t take him to Withdean. Tell him he’ll see the stadium tomorrow’.”

A moment when Adams gave Booker input into a team talk is still remembered.

“It was a wet night at Scunthorpe, I think. Once Micky had done his bit, he asked if I would like to say anything.

“I really liked the film Gladiator at the time so I said ‘Yeah – on my command, unleash hell!’ We got beat 3-0 so it didn’t go down well on the coach home! But me and Micky hit it off.

Booker had to adapt to life with different managers. But then life with the back-to-back title winners could also be an eye-opener too for new managers. Like short-lived ex-England boss Peter Taylor.

“I only met him on the Friday morning and we had a home game on the Saturday,” Booker recalled.

“He said ‘Just do your normal Friday morning, Bob, do what you’ve got to do and I’ll just step in and have a word’.

Booker sprays the Champagne - but a few adjustments were necessary before securing this title under Peter Taylor

“I said ‘No problem gaffer’ so I went off, warmed the lads up, did a few stretches, set up a five-a-side, blew the whistle.

“Bang! Charlie Oatway came in on Nathan Jones. Danny Cullip on Gary Hart. There were bodies flying around everywhere.

“Peter Taylor stepped forward, blew the whistle and said ‘Stop, stop stop!’ He took me to one side and said ‘What the hell’s going on, Bob?’.

“I said ‘We’re training gaffer’. He said ‘It’s Friday morning’ and I said ‘This is what this lot do’.

“He said ‘No, no, no – no tackling’ and I’ve got Charlie Oatway looking at me saying ‘No tackling?’.

“That was quite a different scenario to what they had been used to with Micky but I think Peter had to realise they were on their way to a second promotion and it was just a case of letting the thing flow.

“Micky asked me to go to Leicester with him. They were in the Premiership and it was a big decision for me because it was very hard to say No to Micky Adams after what he had done for me at this football club.

“Having said that, I had a great relationship with the chairman and he made it very clear that, whoever came in, I was still going to be assistant.

“I’m quite a loyal guy and quite an honest guy and I love this football club.

“That was why I stayed but it was difficult telling Micky. Whether it was the right decision or the wrong decision, you have to make them in your life.”

Booker saw the managers come. And he saw them go.

“Sometimes you think the end is going to come and sometimes it comes when you’re not expecting,” he said.

“When me and Mark McGhee got the sack, I don’t think we had that bad a start to the season, so when that comes, it’s a bit of a shock.

“Unfortunately, when Martin Hinshelwood was here, it was different. We were losing game after game.

“That was hard because he was a proper club man and you know it’s coming, you just don’t know when.

“But there were great times. Like the promotions. And the day at the Millennium Stadium will always stay with me. Great celebrations and great for the club to have that massive support there.

Mark McGhee's preparation for the 2004 play-off final left Booker supremely confident of beating Bristol City

“Without being blasé, we knew we were going to win that game.

“Mark put up a list of, no disrespect, all the smaller clubs and said ‘Is that what you want or do you want to go and play at Leeds, Birmingham...?’ That was the team talk, job done.

“We were on a decent run anyway and he threatened to leave Leon Knight out the week before so that got him going.

“I was lucky enough to do back-to-back promotions as a player with Sheffield United and when you do it on the staff you feel like one of the players.

“Sometimes I was the link to the players – sort something out without Micky having to deal with it.

“I’m seeing it a little bit now with what Chris Hughton is doing here.

“It looks like he has got a very good group of players with no big-time Charlies but who all know what job they have got to do for the team.”

Booker watches them from a distance. He has not totally ruled out a return to football and there was a chance he might have joined Adams at Port Vale.

But it would take something exceptional to coax him away from his current set-up as a driving instructor during the week and match host at the Amex.

“The driving is like coaching but one-to-one,” he said: “I enjoy the match hosting and then I go up into the stand and get the best seat in the house for the commentary.

“I say it as it is when I do that. I like to be nice and passionate about it and I really enjoy it.

“At the end you want Brighton to win but doing this rather than management means you can go home on a Saturday night without that pressure.”