Albion manager Mark McGhee paid tribute today to the team effort responsible for the club's highest finish for 14 years.

McGhee has thanked everyone, from chairman Dick Knight through to the office staff, for their help in keeping the Seagulls in the Championship.

Sunday's 1-1 home draw against Ipswich enabled Albion to cling on to 20th spot, a point and two places clear of relegation. It is their best finish since Barry Lloyd's side reached the play-offs at the equivalent level in 1990-91.

McGhee said: "I've never worked with a group of people like this, from the chairman through to the medical staff and everyone behind the scenes. It has to be that way at this club, everyone has to be pulling their weight.

"The squad have done that from the day we got promoted. I asked the lads to go away in the summer and work harder than they had ever done.

"We gave them a harder pre-season than they'd ever had and they got fitter, better and stronger. They have worked at their games and everyone has given absolutely everything to stay in this division. I think they deserve it."

Albion saved themselves by getting the point they needed against play-off bound Ipswich. Defeat would have sent them down on goal difference instead of Gillingham.

"The most satisfying thing is that we got the result but the most satisfying thing really is over the whole season," McGhee said. "It has been a tremendous effort.

"We've had to manage with imagination, to improvise systems. Even against Ipswich we had to improvise, because we have played against a lot of teams we know from the start are better than us.

"We have got results because we have worked hard at our organisation and the players have worked hard to become better players."

McGhee believes Albion's young prospects in particular will benefit from a Championship season under their belts, especially the fraught finish after six straight defeats. They survived with a five-match unbeaten run.

"The last two games (Rotherham away and Ipswich) were different from anything I've experienced in my career and it's not something I want to do every year, very draining," McGhee admitted.

"I said at the end of last season, when we were going for promotion, I thought it was vital for the likes of Virgo, Hammond and El-Abd to play in this division because they were not going to improve otherwise.

"We've only hung in there but we've done it because they have got better. Next year will be the same, it will be hard for us again but these boys are getting better.

"They will benefit hugely from this season. It has been mentally hard but character building, especially in the last few games."

The players have less than nine weeks until their next match, a pre-season friendly away to French club Le Havre on July 9, followed four days later by the annual visit to Worthing.