Albion boss Peter Taylor is confident his players are made of the right stuff to emulate his achievement at Gillingham.

Taylor guided the Seagulls' former landlords to Division One via the play-offs two seasons ago, despite a fixture pile-up induced by an FA Cup run.

Albion are facing a similarly hectic schedule in the second half of the campaign through a combination of postponements and their FA Cup involvement.

Today's Cup clash with Preston was called off following a noon inspection yesterday and now takes place on Tuesday January 15.

Taylor's Second Division promotion contenders will cram in their next three League fixtures in the space of ten days, starting with next Saturday's visit to Wigan.

That will become four in 13 days if the trip to fellow candidates Brentford on Thursday January 24 survives Albion's FA Cup commitments.

Then, between the end of January and early March, the Seagulls are scheduled to play ten League matches in 38 days.

Taylor said: "The last time I was in Division Two we got to the quarter-finals of the FA Cup with Gillingham and we still got promotion.

"By rights it shouldn't get in your way as long as you are a little bit lucky with injuries.

"The FA Cup is a special competition and you should always be trying to get into the next round.

"I wouldn't have changed anything that happened at Gillingham and I look at the group of players here as the same type.

"What I love is that no matter what I say or what formation we play they just get on with it. That is why I respect this bunch a lot. They are a good, honest group.

"They do their jobs properly and if I want to change something they just do it. People like Charlie Oatway and Danny Cullip are great leaders if anybody falls out of line, which makes my job easier."

Wigan old boy Paul Rogers is banned for next Saturday's trip to the JJB Stadium, but the squad should be boosted by the arrival of the versatile Junior Lewis on a three-month loan from Leicester in time for the away game at Chesterfield on January 21.

Tickets for the home match with Cambridge on January 19 go on sale on Monday. Meanwhile, the match at Brentford on January 24 is now all-ticket to Albion fans.

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