Nick Ward believes Albion can play their way out of relegation trouble - despite the Withdean pitch.

The on-loan Australian was impressed by his new team-mates in Saturday's 0-0 draw against rock-bottom Rotherham.

He blamed the pitch for a few stray passes on an encouraging debut and for a first-half miss by Jake Robinson after he set up the young striker.

Midfielder Ward, borrowed from QPR for the rest of the season, said: "When I looked at the table it is pretty congested in the middle. One win takes you up.

"I like the way the boys play. They like to play football, especially at the back. They are comfortable and they like to pass it, so it's good to play with them.

"It's a little bit slower in League One than the Championship but a lot of teams in the Championship don't play football like our team does, which is good to see.

"I thought I did all right. I am definitely not match fit at the moment. It's been a while since I played regularly so it's good to be playing again and I'm glad to get through 90 minutes. There were a few balls I wasn't happy with but I'm going to blame the pitch for those!"

Robinson had the best chance of the match in the first half when Ward put him clean through but he shot straight at Rotherham keeper Neil Cutler.

Ward said: "It was a big chance. Jake said he was looking to slot it under the keeper and it bobbled up, so he blamed the pitch as well."

Albion visit fellow strugglers Brentford and Leyton Orient before their next home match against Nottingham Forest a week on Saturday.