Danny Cullip has celebrated a hat-trick of promotions and now he wants a title double.

The Seagulls have set their sights on their first championship for 36 years after guaranteeing a place in the Second Division next season. Nobody is more determined to make it happen than the dependable central defender.

Cullip has encountered both disappointment and delight in championship chases in Division Three at Fulham and Brentford.

So who better to ask if it really matters whether Albion finish first, second or even third?

Cullip said: "I've experienced winning it and missing out and it matters.

"You don't get a medal unless you win it and everyone likes to come first. That is what we have worked hard for all-year round."

Cullip, boss Micky Adams and several of his current Albion team-mates missed out in 1996-97, when Fulham were pipped for the title by a Wigan side which included the Seagulls skipper Paul Rogers.

They finished neck and neck on points but lost out on goals scored, ironically the result of a rule change suggested by the then Fulham chairman Jimmy Hill.

That experiment was abandoned after two seasons and goal difference has become the deciding factor once more, which suits Albion.

Theirs stands at +37 compared to +38 for Chesterfield, where as the Spireites have scored 74 goals against Albion's 68.

Cullip's second promotion came with Brentford in 1998-99, although he only played in the opening two games before a serious knee injury in a Worthington Cup tie at West Brom ruled him out for the rest of the season.

Adams signed him for Fulham and Brentford and he snapped the 24-year-old up again for Albion for a bargain £50,000 following a successful loan spell.

Cullip has been a key figure in a defence on the threshold of a new club record.

A 22nd clean sheet in the League at Halifax on Saturday will eclipse the standard set way back in 1923-24.

They have also only conceded 31 goals so far, three fewer than the lowest ever total in 1984-85.

Adams regards Cullip as a pivotal figure in Albion's future. He has already hailed the reigning player of the season as captain material.

A deal extended earlier in the campaign means the Bracknell-born stopper is under contract until the summer of 2003.

His importance to the team has been emphasised by recent events.

Cullip damaged ankle and elbow ligaments at Hartlepool last month. Teenager Adam Virgo performed superbly in his absence, but Adams had no hesitation in bringing Cullip straight back.

He has responded with three exemplary displays in three successive 2-0 wins, culminating with last Saturday's promotion clincher at Plymouth and Monday's homecoming against Darlington.

"This is my third promotion and it feels great," Cullip said. "They all do. "It's just fantastic. Bobby Zamora is flying and we are keeping goals out as well.

"It's remarkable to be promoted with six games to go. We have got a very good squad and we have done very well. We are not worried about Chesterfield's nine-point deduction. We are hoping to win the title by winning our games."

Chesterfield's recommended punishment for financial irregularities still has to be rubber-stamped by the Football League.

The Spireites then launch their appeal on April 30, the day before they visit Withdean, so the title race seems certain to be sustained until the final week of the season. Albion need just seven more points from their remaining five matches to be crowned champions, assuming Chesterfield's sentence is upheld.

But they want to finish above them on merit and to guarantee that they need four more victories, including one against their bitter rivals. That would also carry the Seagulls to another new club record of 30 wins in a season, beating the mark set in 1955-56.

There could not be a more fitting climax than that for Cullip and his colleagues.