HERE we go again.Albion's bid to remain in the second tier of English football is going to the last Sunday.

It did two years ago, although this time they are in much better shape.

Back then they needed to win at Grimsby and for Reading to do the same at Stoke.

This time a draw, all be it against far stiffer opposition in Ipswich, will be enough to make other results irrelevant.

Even if they lose there are two safety nets. Crewe have to win for the first time since New Year's Day at home to Coventry to maintain any hope of avoiding the drop.

Alternatively, relegated Nottingham Forest could come to the rescue by beating Gillingham at the City Ground.

To add to the drama, three Albion managers past and present can, to varying degrees, have a significant influence on the final outcome.

The one who can make the biggest impact is, of course, Mark McGhee by summoning one last effort from his players to at worst hold, if not upset, the Tractor Boys.

Then there is Micky Adams, whose deep-rooted affection for the Seagulls is well documented. His Coventry players may already be looking forward to their summer holidays after guaranteeing their own safety with a remarkable demolition of Derby but Adams will be doing his utmost to motivate them.

Even Steve Coppell could be obliging in back-handed fashion. His Reading team desperately need a result at Wigan to enhance their play-off hopes but Albion's prospects would be helped if news filters through to Withdean that Wigan are in front.

That could deflate Ipswich, behind Wigan on goal difference in the race for the second automatic promotion spot, just as Albion were deflated at Grimsby two seasons ago when Stoke took a second-half lead.

So many possibilities, so many potential twists and turns. The only guarantee is another unbearably tense afternoon. The Seagulls just do not do convincing victories, not against a side already doomed to the drop yet alone one still with an outsider's chance of reaching the promised land of the Premiership.

All the pre-match evidence pointed to an Albion win by the narrowest of margins, or at least it did until Adam Virgo was ruled out by the cartilage trouble he carried through the draws against Burnley and West Ham.

Adam El-Abd, set to make way for the return to the starting line-up of Gary Hart, found himself in Virgo's spot in the centre of defence instead of warming the bench.

El-Abd played his part in a critical first win in ten matches and first clean sheet since New Year's Day. It was never going to be pretty but Albion resdiscovered in South Yorkshire the gutsy resilience which enabled them to grind out away victories by the same score at Leicester, Gillingham, Forest and West Ham in the opening third of the campaign. How valuable they are looking now.

McGhee said: "First and foremost, it was an absolutely magnificent effort in the circumstances, with the pressure of needing the points but also losing Adam Virgo. It was going to take character and real resolve to get a win. I'm so pleased with the boys and pleased for them."

That slice of luck which had deserted them of late made a timely return in the manner of the decisive goal in the 19th minute. Richard Carpenter's free-kick from the left flank, whipped in towards the near post, was headed into his own net by Paul McLaren.

Rotherham, toothless in attack, are the lowest scorers in the Championship. Albion are almost as impotent, yet there could have been more goals at both ends.

The Seagulls' interval lead was slightly flattering, given that Alan Blayney had to push away an angled drive from Paul Warne, Michael Proctor headed a corner onto the roof of the net and Shaun Barker, on the stroke of half-time, against the bar from another corner.

The woodwork twice denied Albion the comfort of a second goal after the break, when they created the better opportunities. Dean Hammond would have scored his fourth goal in three games had he not miscued a left-foot shot from close range against a post from a cross by substitute Kerry Mayo.

Leon Knight curled a 25-yarder against the bar in a hectic flurry of close shaves. In-between the unfortunate Barker hit a post with another header from another corner while Blayney, so deserving of a shut-out, had earlier made a fine stop from Warne's header.

It was nervy stuff but Carpenter, promoted, relegated or beaten in the play-offs in each of the last nine seasons, and his colleagues have given themselves a great chance.

"That's four unbeaten now, which has come at the right time," said the experienced midfielder. "It was a good result for us. We did our part and we're still in it.

"We knew it was going to be hard. Rotherham were in a funny position, already relegated with a few playing for contracts. Luckily we got the three points we feel we deserved. It's up to us now to get something out of the Ipswich game."

Albion reached the traditional 50-point safety target with their 13th victory of the season, all of them via a single goal. It will be cruel if that isn't enough, although Carpenter admitted: "It's by no means over. We have got to show character and strength and put on a performance to make sure we don't lose.

"This gives us great confidence but the boys are old enough and wise enough not to get carried away by it. You can't rely on other people, can you?"