Albion manager Micky Adams is motivated by the chance to end another away jinx tonight. The Seagulls won for the first time ever at Crewe on the opening day of the season and now they head for Southend, where they have not tasted victory since 1974.
Adams said: "I like people telling me we have not got a good record there, although I am partly responsible for that. We went there at the start of the season in my first spell and lost 2-0 and it could have been a lot worse than that. "We got a point last week (at home to Bristol Rovers) and it's a good sign that when we don't play well we grind something out. "We were only four minutes away from having a perfect record for the first three games, so we are optimistic and we will have a real go at Southend to try to win the game."
Albion struggled to break down Rovers but Adams is expecting a different type of challenge against a Southend side much-changed since their top six finish last season.
Adams continued: "People will have a perception of Southend and rightly so, because they did fantastically well to reach the play-offs last season, but they've had a turnover of players. "Bailey (Nicky), for instance, has gone to Charlton, and they have brought other players into the club who are finding their feet, very much like ourselves. "I am expecting a very competitive game but I don't think they will have two banks of four against us and ask us to break them down. It will be a different game from that. The onus is always on the home side to entertain and that might just help us, so I don't think it will be a Bristol Rovers-type match. We've worked on things this week. We hit too many long balls from back to front against Rovers, which isn't us. I didn't see that all through pre-season and certainly not in the first couple of games."
Albion will be without Kevin McLeod for the second game running but the former Colchester left winger is on the road to recovery from the injury he sustained in the Carling Cup win against Barnet. Adams said: "His knee has settled down well and we expect him to be fit for Leyton Orient."
Meanwhile Brighton's Matt Richards renews rivalries - and friendship - with Dan Harding at Roots Hall tonight. The career of Albion's on-loan utility player has been interwoven with that of former Seagull Harding for both club and country. Now they find themselves in the same boat, out-of-favour at Ipswich and playing in League One. Hardling lines up for Southend following his temporary move from Portman Road, on the opposite side of the pitch to Richards.
They are more accustomed to being on the same side, vying for the same role at Ipswich and at international level. On one occasion former Albion manager Peter Taylor gave them 45 minutes apiece at left-back for England under-21s.
"We were both in the squad together and both played a half," Richards recalled. "I played the first and he played the second. Unfortunately, after that I got injured so I wasn't involved in the next couple of squads. "I didn't play last year at Ipswich but the year before he played at left-back and I was left midfield. We could switch and I think a few times in the reserves he played left midfield and I played leftback. It was just healthy competition. We know each other really well and I am good friends with him. I'm quite surprised that Dan is still not at Ipswich. He's a great player. He's got a lot of pace and passes the ball really well, so I'm a bit surprised he is not starting there. But he has gone to a good team in Southend. They pass the ball and are difficult to play against but I think we have got the quality here to beat them."
Richards is back with Albion after two successful loan spells last season with former manager Dean Wilkins. Surplus to requirements once more at Ipswich, he had no qualms about returning to the Seagulls under Micky Adams.
"I had been speaking to the lads over pre-season and they said they were really enjoying it and the manager is great, so I didn't really hesitate at all," he said. "I came straight back down here and I haven't looked back since. I was hoping to be involved at Ipswich but it hasn't worked out like that. I tried my hardest in pre-season but it hasn't turned out the best for me there. "I am really happy to come back here on loan. I have enjoyed it a lot since I've come back. I think the club has got even better. I enjoy the training and we have got off to a great start so I am really happy here at the moment. We'll take it step by step and see what happens over Christmas. I am still just concentrating on playing every week. I haven't really thought about where my permanent future lies. I enjoy it down here, so it would definitely be something I would take into consideration when the time comes."