By Tim Hodges from the Amex Press Briefing
Gus Poyet thinks the Albion might have a chance against Newcastle but admits the Geordies are of course clear favourites.
He said that his team needs to be as good as they were when they beat Sunderland in August to get a result.
He told Brighton and Hove News that he expects Alan Pardew to name the best team available and that the Albion players will follow their normal Saturday match-day routine despite the later kick off.
Poyet said how pleased he was that this Saturday will see the third Premier League team to play at the Amex this season and how exciting that was for fans and players alike.
On the injury front we were told that Craig Noone, Kazenga LuaLua and Vicente Rodriguez all have a chance of being involved against Newcastle.
He may even bring in a new player in time to play against the Geordies, but negotiations could drag on until the transfer deadline on Tuesday (31 January). He said that he had some players almost “on standby” if something was to fall through.
Earlier Will Buckley said that he was a Newcastle fan as a boy and Alan Shearer was a hero of his although he hadn’t seen Newcastle play at St James’ Park.
Buckley also said that he would like to get a least ten goals this season and commented on his goal at Peterborough last week, saying he knew he’d hit it well and thought perhaps the wind had helped it on its way.
He ended by saying he wouldn’t be emulating his team-mate Kazenga LuaLua by somersaulting if he scored on Saturday – as he might damage his hamstring.
