Brighton & Hove Albion: Poyet – Vicente available for Saturday

By Tim Hodges from the Amex Press Briefing

Gus Poyet said this morning that Vicente Rodriguez is available for Saturday’s match against Coventry City and joked he was pleased he didn’t send him to Crawley earlier in the week.

However, Gonzalo Jara Reyes is unlikely to be ready until the Nottingham Forest on the Saturday 3 December.

Poyet also advised that Adam El Abd might be in contention for Saturday also, but people should not forget how well Lewis Dunk has played this season.

Poyet was obviously pleased that the Kazenga LuaLua transfer saga is now over as the midfielder has now signed permanently for the Albion.

The manager suggested that the coaching staff  were working hard with him to ensure that he returns to his form of last season.

I asked Poyet if a rare Saturday 3pm kick-off might help his preparation. He said that he always got the players to understand the importance of three o’clock on Saturday – but never 7.45 on a Monday or Tuesday! But he doesn’t see the return to the traditional time causing any problems.

Mauricio Taricco will be available to sit on the bench on Saturday despite serving a two-match ban. The club asked about the rules after Tano’s last sending off and were advised that it was ok for Taricco to be involved in a coaching capacity.

Earlier I asked Craig Noone to summarise briefly his year with the Albion. He told me that it had been unbelievable to go up as champions and for the club to establish themselves in the Championship.

He said that they had beaten some good teams this season. He believes that he has come on so much as an individual player under Poyet and is sure he can only get better under his current manager.