PLAYOFF DREAMS

It looked only a few months ago that Brighton would not be able to finish in the play-off position despite the good start they made to the season.

However, the arrival of the striker Leonardo Ulloa during the January transfer window has changed since significantly for Gus Poyet and his men. The team are extremely close to finishing in the top six of the championship, and there are only a few matches left in the season. Leonardo Ulloa has managed to score eight goals in just 11 matches, as he has put Brighton on a path to the top six.

However, the manager Poyet has revealed that he would still like to add another striker to his squad in the hope of maintaining the strong form of recent weeks. The absence of strikers like Ashley Barnes, Will Hoskins, and Craig Mackail-Smith through reasons like suspension and injury has been one of the main reasons for Poyet’s search for a new striker. He has said that the team is currently taking a lot of risks with only Ulloa up front. If the South American does get injured or suspended during this period, then it would spoil all the good work done in the season.

The club are seventh in the table with only around eight matches remaining in the season. “I have to because it’s a big risk. Imagine if we do well in the next three or four games and then something happens to Leo. Then I’d have to get changed into my number 45 shirt, and we cannot take that risk. Something will come up. Everyone is waiting until the last minute, but by a week on Thursday I will make sure we get the best player we can,” said the former Tottenham assistant manager. Brighton’s next match will be against Nottingham Forest.