Chris McPhee's dad has hit back at critics of Brighton and Hove Albion's rookie stand-in for Bobby Zamora.

Simon McPhee has branded supporters who have slammed the 18-year-old striker as "fickle".

McPhee senior watched his son make his full debut in last Saturday's 0-0 draw at Withdean last Saturday.

The Eastbourne police officer was also at Bournemouth on Tuesday to see McPhee's first away start as the suspended Zamora's deputy in the Seagulls' 1-1 draw. He was upset to hear fans hammering his son on local radio after the match.

McPhee's father said: "He has been with Albion since the age of ten and I was born and bred in Brighton.

"I have supported them all of my life, so to see my son leading the front line makes me immensely proud.

"Both myself and his mum Debbie are over the moon for him, but with it comes baggage and that unfortunately means the knockers.

"I picked up negative things from people in a phone-in but I was sitting amongst the Brighton fans at Bournemouth and they accepted Chris is doing a good job.

"They have played two games and not lost and if they pick up a point or more at Stoke tomorrow then people will look back on it as a good period.

"Supporters of this club are so fickle. If you had said to these people 12 months ago that Brighton would be second in the Second Division you would have been locked up.

"Of course you are going to miss your best player, but Bobby hasn't been there so why talk about him? It's hard as a parent to hear people slagging Chris off and saying you cannot bring a boy into a man's job.

"We are pleased people are talking about him and they say there is no such thing as bad publicity. It gets under our skin sometimes, but what Peter Taylor and his staff say is all that matters. All the while they are slapping him on the back that is good enough for us."

Taylor must decide whether to stick with McPhee up front for tomorrow night's big promotion clash at the Britannia Stadium.

Daniel Webb is available after a two-match ban but Zamora is still suspended and Gary Hart missed the Bournemouth match with an ankle injury.

Albion have sold their 2,800 tickets for the trip to table-topping Reading on March 9. The next two home matches against Wycombe on March 5 and Northampton on March 12 have also sold out.