Albion are turning Withdean into a fortress again and that trend could be crucial as they fight for their First Division lives.

The Seagulls are starting to recapture their formidable home form of the past two title-winning seasons.

Wolves, Millwall and now Rotherham have left empty-handed from a venue which, believe it or not, boss Steve Coppell reckons is too comfortable for opponents.

"It's just not intimidating," Coppell explained. "I think when it's a horrible pitch and the dressing rooms are manky then teams don't like coming here.

"But our dressing rooms, Portakabins though they may be, are good and the pitch now is the equal of anything in this division.

"Opposition teams don't really have anything to complain about. I think in years gone by they were moaning about the pitch and moaning about the dressing rooms."

Perhaps cold showers and a ploughed up playing surface are what is needed for Nottingham Forest, Crystal Palace, Preston, Sheffield Wednesday and Watford.

When you consider Albion's away programme: Sheffield United, Ipswich, Reading, Leicester and Grimsby, then you can appreciate Coppell's analysis of the run-in.

"I was looking at the fixtures to come and we have got to be looking at a good haul of points at home," he conceded.

"We haven't been prolific in that respect but if we finish strongly then it gives us a chance.

"I think we will always pick up points away but we have got to be looking at our home form and just keep pushing right until the final week of the season."

Ah yes, the final week of the season and that closing trip to Grimsby. It looks like it could go right to the wire, with twists and turns every weekend between now and then.

On Saturday, for instance, in the East Midlands, Sheffield Wednesday goalkeeper Paul Evans inexplicably allowed a backpass from team-mate Paul McLaren to beat him to present Micky Adams' Leicester with a point.

A few minutes later at Withdean, an unfortunate own goal opened the door for Albion to establish a two-point cushion over Wednesday.

Tony Rougier's close-range stab was smothered by Mike Pollitt but the ball rebounded off the face of pint-sized Rotherham leftback Paul Hurst into the vacant net.

That provided the all-important breakthrough after a horrible first half and Bobby Zamora, unmarked at the far post from a Richard Carpenter corner, volleyed the Seagulls into an unassailable lead 11 minutes later.

Albion are entitled to feel Hurst's unwitting intervention merely balanced the scales of justice.

Remember how Alan Lee lobbed the luckless Martin Hinshelwood towards another defeat back in September at Millmoor, with the Millers' top marksman standing yards offside?

Rotherham have the second-highest haul of away goals in the division behind leaders Portsmouth, yet they rarely looked like enlarging their tally.

Danny Cullip was a tower of strength once more and Dave Beasant made certain of consecutive clean sheets at home with a fine one-handed stop on the line from a low shot by Martin McIntosh during a late rally by the Yorkshiremen.

Substitute and former Seagull Richie Barker also headed against the bar in the closing stages but he acknowledged the scrapping instincts of his former club.

"We were poor," Barker said. "That was in the bottom three performances we've had all season but if they carry on fighting like that and get the bit of luck they had for the first goal then they won't be far away come the end of the season."

Rotherham, resilient and uncompromising, stayed up on goal difference last term after rising, like Albion, from the Third to the First Division in successive seasons. Barker said: "There are ten games to go, two months of the season, and you just put your head down and fight for every ball.

"It's hard because there are a lot of tired legs. I know it's a bit of a cliche, but you have got to take every game as it comes and aim to win the next one.

"It was difficult last season. We weren't safe until the next to last game when we got a draw at home to Birmingham. It's easy to worry about how the others are getting on, but you've just got to get on with things yourselves."

Goal difference may be a tad too close for comfort for Coppell but he admits he would happily go to Grimsby requiring a result to stay up after the desperate situation he inherited.

For now he is just relieved the players were rewarded at the end of a gruelling week, which began with defeat at Gillingham and continued with another setback at fellow strugglers Stoke. In both cases they let those games slip after a scoreless first half, so it was satisfying to reverse the pattern.

"It was physically demanding to play on Wednesday evening and the boys didn't get back to Brighton until half past three in the morning," he said.

"We all sensed we were a little bit sorry for ourselves on Friday morning when we trained.

"To come back from that shows, once again, the character of the team and the determination to to fight right to the very last whistle to try and stay in this division."

Albion (3-4-1-2):

Scorers: Hurst (56 og), Zamora (67).

Bookings: Mayo (58, foul), Carpenter (70, foul).

Rotherham (4-4-2):

Bookings: McIntosh (26 foul), Lee (53, foul), Byfield (61, dissent), Swailes (81, foul).

Half-Time: Albion 0 Rotherham 0.

Attendance: 6,468.

Fan's View: Stewart Pierce (Eastbourne).

For Rotherham, you could read any one of 16 teams in the First Division.

They are big, well organised, don't make many mistakes at the back and get the ball forward quickly, usually by disrupting local flight paths.

Pretty it is not, effective it generally is.

What a pity it took a third of the season for Albion to adapt to the norm.

Adapt, however, they have and points have been accumulated, keeping us just ahead of the pack.

In our favour we have two massive plus factors. One, ofcourse, is the best player in the division. The other is a small squad, not particularly talented, but totally committed to the cause and each other.

A piece of good fortune midway through the second period, largely due to the endeavours of Tony Rougier, could prove vital in the final shake up.

Rougier may have his critics but he is big and strong and he's here to prove a point to Reading.