Albion manager Mark McGhee today urged his players to remove any doubts about their Championship survival by claiming the home point they need to be certain of staying up.

A draw against promotion-chasing Ipswich at Withdean on Sunday will be enough to condemn Crewe or Gillingham to the drop with Nottingham Forest and Rotherham.

Defeat would leave them sweating either on Crewe failing to beat Coventry at home or Gillingham losing at Forest.

Albion almost clinched safety with Saturday's 1-0 win at Rotherham and Crewe's 5-1 hammering at Ipswich. They needed Coventry to lose as well, at home to play-off probables Derby, but an extraordinary 6-2 victory for Micky Adams' side in the last ever game at Highfield Road has turned the final day into a three-way fight to escape relegation.

Albion have 50 points, Gillingham 49 and Crewe 47 but the Seagulls have an inferior goal difference. McGhee said: "I didn't know the other results until well after the end of our match. It was disappointing in the sense you would like to think it was finished but it was always going to be possible this would be the scenario.

"The most important thing is it's in our hands. We want to do it ourselves."

Former Albion boss Adams' affection for the Seagulls should ensure that Coventry make it difficult for Crewe at Gresty Road, even though they are safe. Ipswich must better Wigan's result at home to play-off contenders Reading to snatch the second automatic promotion place.

McGhee insisted: "We have got the ability to get something off Ipswich. It would obviously help us if Wigan are winning.

"Maybe we cannot count on that and we have got to tune our minds into thinking we need something out of the game. That's how we approached it at Rotherham. We didn't think a draw would do, we approached it knowing nothing less than a win would do. "Ipswich are a fantastic team at this level and it will be a really difficult game but we have got character and no small amount of ability. We will regroup, see how the troops are looking and prepare ourselves again for another massive effort."

Albion will be without top scorer Adam Virgo. The cartilage injury he has been carrying ruled him out at Rotherham and he is having an operation tomorrow.

McGhee revealed: "He tried it in training on Friday but, where he felt at 80 per cent in previous games, he reckoned he couldn't get up to 40 per cent so it was impossible."

Mark McCammon faces a fight to be fit after he was kept off the bench at Rotherham by back spasms. Albion have been given a £60,000 cash boost, thanks to Sky's live coverage of the Ipswich showdown.