It is not that long ago that Newcastle fans were dancing in the streets thanks to a Steve Bruce substitution.

They just didn’t realise it at the time.

It was an hour into the last game of the 2016-17 season and Bruce, then in charge of Aston Villa, sent on Jack Grealish to, as it turned out, win the Championship title for Newcastle.

His 90th-minute strike which fooled David Stockdale sparked celebrations on Tyneside as the Seagulls let slip top spot at almost the last possible moment.

The Argus:

Funny how things work out. Bruce will go up against Albion again tomorrow and is taking time to win the Toon Army over.

Rafa Benitez, the man who guided Newcastle to that second-tier title, is a tough act to follow.

But Graham Potter is convinced the manager he will go up against can do it.

He can also understand why Bruce has dressed tomorrow’s game up as like a cup final even if he does not fully agree.

Bruce and Potter lock horns for the first time since the former’s Sheffield Wednesday got the better of Swansea last season.

Potter said: “Steve is an experienced, respected football manager with a lot of games under his belt.

“He knows the game. Tremendous experience, tremendous successes.

“I think when you go in, it’s a change and you have to manage that process.

“He is experienced enough and clever enough to understand that and he will do well there.”

Asked about the “cup final” reference, Potter said: “I think that is just to a certain extent the Premier League.

“It has that feeling about the games. The next one is so important, the next one is the big game.

“For us, we just want to carry on trying to improve and get better and go into every game trying to win, of course understanding the challenge you face.”

The ‘cup final’ reference is down to a couple of factors.

Firstly, playing at home to Brighton is seemingly a must-win for every other side in the Premier League.

They see it as a great chance to get points and failure to do so can be seen as a major blow.

That much has become clear during the Seagulls’ two-and-a-bit campaigns in the elite.

Every team, whether they say it or not, expects to win at home to Albion, not least with their dodgy away record.

Newcastle were no different last October when Albion went north and won 1-0.

The Toon were still winless at that stage but this time around have a remarkable 1-0 success at Tottenham to their name.

Their home record, however, is shaky and includes a 1-1 draw with Watford.

Potter said: “Newcastle away is a difficult game, just like all the other games we have played.

“We don’t target particular games, we just focus on the match itself and what we need to do to play well, to get a positive result.”

Martin Montoya is fit to face the Magpies and could come back in down the right.

But fellow wing-back Bernardo is expected to miss out.

Montoya, pictured, sat out the home draw with Burnley last Saturday due to tonsillitis while Bernardo had taken a knock in training.

Illness has cleared up for right-sided Montoya.

Head coach Potter said of Bernardo: “He had a kick last week, which we are just getting to the bottom of.

“He shouldn’t be too bad and there is an outside chance he should be available for the game but probably more so next week, unless we get some different news.”

Potter reported Leandro Trossard is “making good progress” after suffering a groin injury while with Belgium.

Leon Balogun and Alireza Jahanbakhsh also picked up minor injuries on international duty.

Of the two, Balogun is the more likely to feature.

Those not featuring at the moment will have a great chance of game time on Wednesday in the third round of the Carabao Cup.

Their opponents? Aston Villa, of course. With or without Grealish.