Martin Chivers was Albion’s answer to Paul McGrath.

The former England international was nearing the end of his career when he joined the Seagulls for a knockdown £15,000 in March 1979.

One of the finest centre-forwards of his generation, Chivers scored just once in six appearances for Alan Mullery’s side but it proved a key goal which helped Albion gain promotion to the First Division.

However, in Big Chiv, his autobiography which goes on sale on Monday, he reveals how he advised Mullery, his former Tottenham team-mate, not to sign him due to his injury problems and how he barely trained during his time on the South Coast.

Chivers said: “I went to the PFA dinner and spoke with Alan Mullery, who was then managing Brighton. He pointed at me and said, ‘You are just the player I want’.

“I shrugged my shoulders. ‘Sorry skip,’ I said, ‘I have got an Achilles tendon injury’ “His quick response was, ‘You’ll be fine, you’ll be nuisance value. Teddy Maybank, our centre-forward is banned for three games and I need someone up front’. I loved the thought of playing under Mullers so off I went to the seaside.

“I did no training. I just had to play those three games in place of Teddy.”

One of them was a 3-3 draw away to Leyton Orient on April 7 when Chivers scored with a classic header.

With Albion only finishing a point clear of fourth-placed Sunderland in the final table, the point at Brisbane Road proved a valuable one.

Chivers recalled: “I managed to score an instinctive header at the near post at Leyton Orient. This proved to be an important goal, gaining a valuable point in Brighton’s push for promotion.

“We finally achieved our goal in our last game at Newcastle, which I watched from the sidelines, and I joined in the dressing room celebrations at Mullers’ insistence.”

Having had his Achilles operation, Chivers stuck around for the following season, playing three games in the First Division, before leaving to become player-manager at Dorchester.

Big Chiv is a fascinating read, bringing to light Chivers’ turbulent relationship with legendary Tottenham manager Bill Nicholson.

Nicholson resigned in August 1974 with the media suggesting it was over the argument about a new contract for his star striker. Nicholson later said this was not the reason but it was a fractious union from the day Chivers signed for Spurs in January 1968.

Chivers recalled Nicholson’s departure: “I know that Martin Peters and Stevie Perryman went to see him and tried to talk him out of leaving. It was a futile task. The game had changed considerably since Bill took over at Spurs in 1958, much of it not to his liking.

“This may come as a shock to Spurs fans but at that point I was not sad to see Bill leave the club. Not as sad as some players, that was for sure. All my time at Spurs, I had been in conflict with the man.”

Chivers scored 118 goals in 278 games for Spurs and a further 13 in 24 appearances for England. But one of his England appearances, the 1-1 draw with Poland which meant Sir Alf Ramsey’s team failed to qualify for the 1974 World Cup finals, provided one of the lowpoints of his career.

He said: “I was the top marksman in the country and rightly or wrongly people expected goals. That night I had been unable to deliver and it hurt.”

Big Chiv: My Goals in Life is published by Vision Sports Publishing with a recommended retail price of £18.99.