Dave Beasant is poised to make his Albion debut at the Bescot Stadium after agreeing to join the Seagulls for the rest of the season today.

The former England keeper, who has been with Second Division leaders Wigan since the end of October and was due to stay with them until the end of the season, revealed he had been waiting for the call from Steve Coppell.

He said today: "It's not such a shock move for me because we had spoken a few weeks ago when the injury situation occurred to Michel.

"I had been hoping it would come around, but because of Ben's illness, it had come around quicker than I expected.

"Wigan weren't really happy to release me. We had agreed a deal to the end of the season, but because I was hoping to get something where I would be playing at a higher level and playing games, we agreed a clause where I could get a seven day release and that is what we have evoked this time.

"I've signed till the end of the season. Hopefully if things go well and we have retained our status in the First Division, then we might look at things again, but I cannot take anything for granted. I have got to make sure I do my best for Brighton to the end of the season."

The 43-year-old will become Albion's fourth goalkeeper in three games following a string of injuries to the Seagulls' stoppers.

Michel Kuipers tore a thigh muscle in Albion's last away game at Norwich in the FA Cup 17 days ago and had to be replaced by Will Packham.

Ben Roberts, signed on a month's loan from Charlton, played against Portsmouth at Withdean four days later, but gastric flu is expected to rule him out.

Beasant will be hoping tomorrow for a repeat of his previous visit to the Bescot Stadium three years ago, when he kept a clean sheet in a 2-0 victory for Nottingham Forest.

"They are all difficult games for us," he said. "We need three points as often as possible and I suppose this one is a six pointer for us."

Boss Steve Coppell said: "Dave is a terrific role model as a professional footballer. He is still a very sprightly goalkeeper and he has agreed to come down and help us for the rest of the season.

"In terms of experience and a great voice in the dressing room he's all these wrapped into one and still very hungry to play football.

"I know when I played if you looked around and you have got a goalkeeper you can trust and somebody whose knowledge you respect, somebody who still works amazingly hard to maintain a level of fitness, then it's a nice warm feeling inside. I am sure Dave will have that effect on everybody in the dressing room.

"In just one training session he was throwing himself around in the snow and has still got that desire. He has played almost 800 games professionally and that is a fabulous record. His enthusiasm is as if he was still in his first season."

Roberts was not well enough to train yesterday and Coppell must now decide whether to send him back to Charlton.

"It's something I'll discuss with him and Alan Curbishley," he said. "No decision has been made as yet. I'm on a knife-edge anyway with him anyway because Charlton have instant recall. Ben has been ill since the weekend. He's feeling dog rough. He is going to be struggling."

Only 16 players trained yesterday after Paul Kitson (hamstring) and Simon Rodger (back) were hurt in the reserves on Wednesday.

The Bescot clash will be the subject of a pitch inspection at 9.30am tomorrow.