Chris Hughton believes Albion could finish ninth in the Premier League - but he is more concerned about staying clear of the bottom three.

The tenth-placed Seagulls could climb as high as sixth with a third straight win at Burnley today.

That, Hughton says would be unsustainable, and the objective remains survival.

He said: “For the likes of us it’s impossible (top six). I wouldn’t speak any differently to other managers.

“The top six are there for obvious reasons - that qualify for the Champions League and the magnitude of the clubs themselves.

“I think most would see, particularly this season, Everton as the team that has the next-best chance of forcing their way in, and of course Leicester because of what they have done in the last few seasons.

“Outside of that I think there are, on their day, a very big group of teams that can get results against each other.

“So it’s about the team that have that consistency. Last season it was Burnley.

“You never know that until the end of the season, because it will fluctuate.

“For us at this moment it’s still about maintaining good levels, not even think about certainly league positions high, think about the distance we can create between us and the bottom three.

“Apart from that, I never think of league positions.”

Albion finished 15th last season with 40 points while Burnley, currently next-to-bottom, qualified for the Europa League in seventh.

Hughton told The Argus: “I think we’ve got a fairly realistic group of supporters. Expectations are higher than last season but I think that’s normal.

“Burnley might be different, because they had an incredible season last season.

“Would Burnley supporters expect them to finish seventh or eighth again? I don’t know.

“But certainly for teams like ourselves, Huddersfield who stayed up, expectations rise.

“But that is part and parcel of it. You have to live with that. Generally if expectations go up it means you are doing okay.”