New Albion boss Martin Hinshelwood last night vowed to keep prize asset Bobby Zamora.

England under-21 international striker Zamora has been linked with moves to Everton and Tottenham.

But Hinshelwood, who accepted a two-year deal yesterday, insists the striker who netted 32 goals last season to help the Seagulls into the first division is going nowhere.

He said: "As far as I am concerned he is a Brighton and Hove Albion player and that's the way it will stay.

"The only way he'll go is if we have an offer that we can't afford turn down.

"But we want him here as part of what I believe will be an exciting future."

Hinshelwood intends to swoop for new players in the "next seven to ten days."

The club have been hit by an injury crisis up front with Zamora struggling to be fit for the start of the season because of a groin problem and Gary Hart sidelined after breaking his leg at the end of last season. The retirement of Simon Morgan leaves a gap in central defence at a club that only has 21 professionals.

Hinshelwood said: "I hope there will be one or two new players around in the next seven to ten days.

"My first priority is up front and at centre-back. That is what I am targetting right now.

"We've spoken to quite a few players, but they've got to be right for this club.

"We can add to the ones who have shown their commitment. Some have signed contracts with the club even when it didn't have a manager.

"We've had two years of success and I don't see why we can't keep moving forward.

"We won't be viewing staying up as a bonus, we want to win things. We will aim for the First Division title because if you just aim for survival you might end up in trouble. It'll be hard because there are a lot of quality football clubs.

Hinshelwood, who takes charge for the first time since his appointment against Worthing in a pre-season friendly at Woodside Road tonight, believes he can make the jump from directing youth to guiding the first team.

Eyebrows will have been raised with his appointment as successor to Peter Taylor in the Albion hot seat.

Big names like Tony Adams, the Arsenal and England legend, Steve Coppell, the experienced former Crystal Palace and Brentford manager, and Danny Wilson, the former Seagull favourite now with Bristol City, were all linked with the job.

Lesser lights such as Terry Burton, the former Wimbledon manager, and Graham Rix, who was replaced by Harry Redknapp at Portsmouth, were also in the frame.

But Hinshelwood was always a candidate to warm the manager's chair from the moment Taylor decided the budget wasn't big enough to launch a first division campaign and resigned at the end of April. Now Knight reckons Hinshelwood will have one of the biggest budgets in the league to work with and won't necessarily have to rely on free transfer bargains to bolster the squad.

It's taken Dick Knight, chief executive Martin Perry and the rest of the board 11 weeks to make the decision. The mantra was: "Be patient because we want to get it right."

They might not have rushed, but there is a certain irony that the answer to the dilemma was in their own backyard all the time.

Hinshelwood agrees that a section of the support would have preferred a big name.

But he added: "I felt from as soon as Peter went that myself and Bob (Booker) could do the job.

"The most important thing is what we do on the pitch, not the identity of the manager.

"Bob and I have worked well together. In fact, the whole coaching staff have.

"We will all be there for the coming season, Dean White with the reserves, Dean Wilkins with the youth, Bob and myself.

"We know we've all got plenty to prove. We've all got to step up a level but It's a team effort and I'm confident we can be successful."

Taylor tipped Booker as his successor, but Hinshelwood revealed why he got the nod over his No.2.

He said: "It was felt by the directors that Bob didn't have enough experience, but he has done a fantastic job at the football club and will continue to do so."