Albion are looking at a getaway during their newly-introduced Premier League winter break.

But what they, and indeed their fans, do with the other free weekends – at least two and possibly four – coming their way remains to be seen.

The Seagulls’ fixture list could develop a very stop-start look due to their early FA Cup exit.

Premier League clubs get a free weekend this season in an effort to relieve the intensity of the schedule.

Whether it comes at the right time is open for debate, as is how much it will actually benefit.

Graham Potter suggested over Christmas that he would rather have had a bit of respite then, not six weeks later.

What it means for Albion is that they will have no game on the weekend of February 15. That has been known since the TV listings for February came out.

They now also have a free weekend at the end of this month after going out of the cup to Sheffield Wednesday.

That means, after returning home from Bournemouth next Tuesday, Potter’s men will have just four fixtures in the subsequent 46 days.

There will be a break of 11 days between the trip to Dean Court and their next fixture at West Ham.

And a two-week gap between the home match against Watford and the trip to Sheffield United.

Potter and his coaching staff will have to think carefully about how to keep their squad sharp yet rested during such quiet times.

Albion’s head coach told The Argus: “We are thinking about it (a training camp) for the Premier League break after Watford.

“Then obviously we have to use the FA Cup weekend best we can.

“There’s no definite plan yet but it is something we are talking about behind the scenes and we will come up with something I am sure.”

For the first time, the fifth round of the FA Cup is being played in midweek.

That means there will not be a free Saturday to put up with there and gives Albion a clear week ahead of the visit to Wolves, who may or may not have a cup commitment.

But later cup rounds could offer some disruption.

Albion are currently due to visit Leicester City on what is also the weekend of the sixth round.

Liverpool’s visit to the Amex is down for the third Saturday in April – which is also the date for the FA Cup semi-finals.

Given that Leicester and Liverpool are still in the cup - and given the way they are playing – there must be a fair chance one or both of those league games will have to be rescheduled.

The FA Cup quarter-finals again come immediately before an international break.

That did not bother Albion in the last two seasons given their runs to the latter stages.

But, should Leicester get through to the last eight, the Seagulls would have three weeks with no game, between mid-March (Arsenal at home) and early April (Manchester United at home).

That is a scenario which looked a strong possibility two years ago when Albion were down to visit Manchester City on sixth-round day.

The concern was that Pep Guardiola’s stars would be busy in the cup and Chris Hughton’s men would be left with that three-week lay-off.

As it turned out, City lost at Wigan in the cup and Albion went through to the last eight, keeping them busy.

With the international break at the end of March, Albion know they have three blank weekends coming. That could rise to five.

Last season’s run to the FA Cup semis saw the Seagulls have to rearrange league games against Cardiff (home) and Spurs (away) to midweek dates.

One fixture clash they will not have to worry about is one caused by their planned opponents being involved in the Carabao Cup final.

Last season, they were left without a match on the last weekend of February when their planned opponents Chelsea were involved in the final against Manchester City.

The Seagulls’ trip to Stamford Bridge was squeezed into the midweek ahead of the FA Cup semi-final.

No such fears this time. The final match of next month, at home to Crystal Palace, is well and truly on.

It’s one of the Manchester clubs, most probably City, versus Leicester or Aston Villa in the sideshow at Wembley the following afternoon.