When Albion squeezed into the play-offs at Nottingham Forest two years ago with Leo Ulloa's last-gasp goal there was a whiff of paella in the East Midlands air, such was the strength of the Spanish influence.

The manager (Oscar Garcia), his coach (Juan Torrijo), his goalkeeping coach (Ruben Martinez). The full-back (Inigo Calderon), the corner-taker for Stephen Ward's equaliser (Andrea Orlandi).

The Spanish Armada is no more but who needs a fleet? A gleaming exception will do.

Bruno Saltor, or just Bruno as he is known by anyone with an Albion connection, will be the stylish red and yellow flag bearer on the return to the City Ground on Monday evening.

The Seagulls are grappling for a top two finish on the banks of the River Trent this time, rather than just the top six. Nobody has been more influential in that pursuit than their bearded wonder.

Bruno has stood out in his fourth campaign with the club, not just because of his impressive facial hair.

Voting closed on Friday night for Albion's player of the season, with stiffer than usual competition for the prize.

Beram Kayal, the Israeli's midfield accomplice Dale Stephens and goalkeeper David Stockdale all have claims but it would be a travesty if Bruno is not somewhere on the podium.

The evergreen right-back is closing in on joining an elite group who started every game in a 46-match season.

Without downplaying Stockdale's role, that landmark is slightly easier for a goalkeeper to achieve, hence the presence on the list of John Keeley, Michel Kuipers and Nicky Rust (twice).

The most recent addition was another full-back, Marcos Painter, now running Birmingham's under-16's and the half-time guest at St Andrew's on Tuesday night for Albion's precious 2-1 victory.

Painter was ever-present a grade down in League One in 2010-11, when Albion won the title in their final season at Withdean.

The list is littered with other club luminaries. Steve Gatting, Keith Dublin, Garry Nelson, Gary Chivers, Dean Wilkins (twice).

And Paul Watson, whose set piece deliveries were instrumental in Bobby Zamora's goal tally and who now, in his role as physiotherapist, helps get Bruno out on the pitch week in, week out.

 

A touch of late cramp against Burnley was not going to stop him from making the team again at Birmingham to maintain his ever-present status.

Personal gain is the last thing on Bruno's mind as he leads Albion into the six assignments that will shape their destiny.

"I haven't thought about this, just to give 100 per cent in training and every single game," he said. "Then we'll see where my body can take me."

It is amzing that it has taken him this far. The Championship is a highly competitive environment, flurries of quickfire fixtures between international breaks in a division with little to choose between top and bottom, examining both mind and body.

For Bruno, at the age of 35-and-a-half, to have started all 40 games - and to have finished 36 of them - is testimony to the way he looks after himself.

With the ball he oozes the technical gifts of a defender who played in La Liga for Valencia against Lionel Messi.

Without it the occasions when he has been outwitted by a rival winger test the powers of recall.

Bruno has also, somewhat unexpectedly throughout the second half of Albion's challenge, skippered the side.

He does not shout a lot, captaining the team instead in the manner of a David Beckham, by accomplished example.

A combination of his smooth leadership and the outstanding form of Connor Goldson alongside him in the right-sided centre-back berth has masked the inactivity of Gordon Greer, a colossal figure throughout the Amex era.

We could be witnessing the closing stages of a generation of golden oldies. Greer, speaking to The Herald after helping Scotland to a clean sheet in their recent friendly win against Denmark, remarked: "This is my last year at Brighton so we'll see what happens."

Inigo Calderon, Bruno's long-time right-back rival, has played 45 minutes of the last eight matches and has slipped out of the squad.

It would not be a surprise if Zamora, sidelined for seven weeks, decides at the end of the season his body is telling him enough is enough after more than 550 appearances, the majority at elite level.

Bruno, on the other hand, will surely go on for at least another year, irrespective of which league Albion are in. Perhaps in possession of the player of the season award, won last year by Calderon.

Nobody would quibble if he is announced the winner at the awards ceremony at the Amex on April 24, the day after Albion's penultimate away game at Charlton.

By then the team he is leading with considerable style could be even closer to the promised land.