Albion scoring ace Bobby Zamora has admitted he forgot he was on the brink of a ban at Bradford last Saturday.

A caution in the closing stages, his fifth of the season, has ruled him out of the Seagulls' return to former landlords Gillingham at the Priestfield Stadium next Saturday.

"I forgot about the bookings completely to be quite honest," admitted Zamora.

"I don't even pay attention to bookings anyway. I don't understand them!

"I only knew after the match when someone from the press told me. It's frustrating. I want to play in every game."

Albion have not coped well in the past without their striking spearhead. They lost every one of the eight League games he has missed this season.

Gary Hart is also sidelined from the Gillingham clash, as he will be serving the second of a four-match suspension.

Zamora is confident the team can cope. "Everyone is digging deep and performances have been really good, so I think they will be okay without me," he said.

"We've got Graham Barrett to come in. He is virtually a full international, so there are no worries there. I am quite sure Graham will do a tremendous job and now we have got Tony Rougier as well."

Zamora's controversial first half header against Bradford, awarded by a linesman signalling the ball had crossed the line, took his tally for the season into double figures.

A hernia disrupted his summer, then a knee ligament injury sustained in the home defeat by Norwich in August kept him out for a total of nine games in all competitions.

He also sat out the defeat at Nottingham Forest in November with a combination of ankle, heel and hamstring problems.

"Coming up to the end of the season and seeing I have only got ten goals is a bit disappointing," he said.

"It has been a bit annoying injury wise. I didn't do pre-season at all with my hernia and then there was the knee, so it has been frustrating.

"I've still scored something like one every two games, which isn't too bad. Obviously I'm disappointed with the League position, but we are working on that.

"Performance wise we have been spot-on for the last seven to ten games. I think we are finding our feet now in the First Division. Hopefully we can continue doing that and get a few more points on the board.

"Staying up would be a massive achievement for a small club like us. Last year was a big achievement to go straight up again, but so would this be.

"The win against Bradford has dragged them a bit closer. There is still plenty of time and plenty of games to drag others down and get well out of it."

Zamora is, in fact, not that far adrift of his prolific career ratio with Albion, despite the leap in standard.

The matchwinner at Valley Parade made it ten in 24 League appearances, just a touch below the one in two benchmark of most regular goalscorers.

In the Third Division Zamora plundered 28 goals in 43 games, in Division Two last season the same number from two matches less.

Albion's influential hitman still has a dozen outings left to bolster his tally, starting with the vital visit to relegation rivals Stoke on March 5.

The trip to the Britannia Stadium will bring back happy memories for Zamora. That is where he launched his international career as a substitute for David Platt's England under-21s against Portugal.

Zamora reached another landmark earlier this month with his full debut for Platt's side in the 1-0 friendly defeat in Italy.

He partnered Shola Ameobi, the two-goal hero of Newcastle's Champions League triumph at Bayer Leverkusen on Tuesday.

"It was cool, nice to get a run-out," said Zamora. "When Jermain (Defoe) went home I thought I might start, because it was Darren Bent's first trip.

"It went alright for me. It was a stop-start game, which was a bit annoying at times, but I was delighted to have a sample.

"It's nice to get away and meet up with the rest of the lads. I just enjoy going away with them."

Zamora is sure to figure in Platt's squad for the European Championship qualifiers away to Portugal on Friday, March 28, and against Turkey at Newcastle on Tuesday, April 1.

He will not be affected by club commitments as Albion's home game against arch rivals Crystal Palace, scheduled for Saturday, March 29, has been brought forward to Tuesday, March 25, on police advice.

Barrett will be involved in international action on the same dates as Zamora, with the Republic of Ireland under-21s bidding to rekindle their Euro qualifying campaign away to Georgia and Albania.

A postal ballot for sought-after tickets for the Palace showdown takes place on March 6.