Albion No.1 Michel Kuipers is mourning the departure of Steve Coppell, despite losing his place under the former Seagulls' boss.

The Dutch giant lost out to Ben Roberts in the battle to be first choice goalkeeper at the start of the season.

Kuipers was then loaned out to Hull, but he was still as sorry as the rest of the players to see Coppell leave for Reading last week.

"It's not the case at all that I am glad to see him go," he said.

"Once I returned to Brighton Steve Coppell was very pleased with my performances. Even when I was at Hull he was still following me.

"I needed games because of the injury I had last season. The main thing was playing 90 minutes as much as possible."

Kuipers is grateful for his stint at Hull, where he was reunited with ex-Albion manager Peter Taylor.

He has come back in the form of his life after returning early to replace the injured Roberts.

Kuipers, ruled out for the last four months of last season by a thigh problem which required surgery, said: "It started off at Hull to be honest, because the main thing was to get games under my belt.

"I played four games for them and that basically started off my season.

"I'm very pleased with my performances since I came back. The statistics speak for themselves."

Incredibly, Kuipers has not been beaten from open play in normal time for ten and a half hours.

The only goals he has conceded were Malcolm Christie's extra-time winner for Middlesbrough in the Carling Cup and Stuart Gray's penalty for Rushden and Diamonds.

Monday's LDV Vans Trophy victory against Forest Green Rovers completed a hat-trick of clean sheets at Withdean.

Kuipers has made important saves at important times in both of Bob Booker's matches in caretaker charge.

In the second half against Rovers he kept out a free-kick from Denny Ingram and a shot from Martin Foster, either of which could have forced Albion into extra-time.

Against Grimsby last Saturday he performed similar heroics from a Tony Crane header to preserve a run of impressive first half performances.

Albion have not been behind at half time since Sheffield Wednesday led at Withdean towards the end of last season.

Kuipers, in common with the rest of the squad, has pledged his support in Booker's bid to land the job full-time.

"Bob Booker has stepped in before over the last three years," Kuipers said. "I remember the first time at Huddersfield and we won that match.

"From that day onwards everyone has had confidence in Bob.

"The players have confidence in him and that is very important, but the chairman has to make the decision. The only thing we can do as players is to do well for him."

Kuipers makes his 100th League appearance for Albion on Saturday at the ground where he launched his career in England.

"I played my first match for Bristol Rovers at Bournemouth, so it's a special place for me," he said.

The Seagulls have the luxury of knowing they will still be top, irrespective of the result, and Kuipers is confident they can stay there.

"When we are on top of our game we are a very good side," he added.

"The important thing is that everyone stays focused and disciplined. In our squad there are several people who make sure the other guys are on their toes.

"If we keep performing like we have so far I don't see any reason why we won't be at the top of the table at the end of the season."