Albion are set for a showdown with the company looking after the pitch at Withdean.

They are furious with Ecovert South after last Saturday's match against Rotherham was almost called off. The Seagulls believe only the intervention of a small army of fans helped rescue the sell-out fixture against the Third Division leaders.

Martin Perry, Albion's chief executive is preparing for talks with the Stadium managers and he won't be pulling any punches. "We will certainly make our views known," Perry said. "We were very unhappy about the preparation of the pitch on Saturday, but we were absolutely delighted with our supporters who responded brilliantly to help the club."

There were pools of water on the surface on Saturday morning after heavy rain. Referee Paul Danson inspected the pitch and decided the game could be played, providing there was not another downpour. Perry then issued a plea for help on local radio and around a dozen volunteers spearheaded the mopping up operation.

"The referee had given the go-ahead to the game prior to the fans arriving, but he wanted to see a lot of effort maintained on the pitch," said Perry. "There was then a second inspection.

"There was a significant risk the game would not have gone ahead without our supporters' help, because there were not enough groundstaff to maintain the pitch."

Manager Micky Adams refused to comment, but he has voiced his anger in the past about the pitch at Albion's temporary home and its preparation. The club are concerned Ecovert do not own the right equipment and provide enough manpower for watering the playing surface when it is too dry or to clear it of water when the heavens open.

They have been urging the company to strike a deal with Sussex CCC to borrow the 'Whale', used to dry up the County Ground in Hove. Mike Hall, Ecovert building facility maintence manager, admitted he was "surprised" by Albion's criticism of the pitch preparation.

He said: "The match was not in jeopardy. The referee never had a problem with it. Martin does expect a pristine, Rolls Royce pitch and there's nothing wrong with that. It was was pristine on Friday and then the heavens opened and Martin took a unilateral decision to appeal on radio for fans to help. It was not at our request.

"I don't want to put down the efforts of the fans. In fact, I'd like to thank them because they were well intentioned. We may need them if the snow comes next year, but they weren't needed. We had enough staff to cope."