John Gregory leaned back and stretched. It had been a tiring morning training with the Aston Villa players.

But as he swung forward his eyes were twinkling and a broad smile broke out across his craggy features.

The subject of Albion had been broached. He remembered The Argus picture that illustrated his comments on Seagulls chairman Dick Knight when the two clubs were negotiating a fee for Gareth Barry.

The England international from St Leonards spent six years at the Seagulls' Centre Of Excellence set-up, but Gregory claimed Knight would not recognise the player.

Gregory said: "I saw that picture in The Argus and you mocked up a picture that had someone standing on Brighton beach with a ball under his arm and a seagull on his head with Gareth's face.

"I had said he (Dick Knight) wouldn't know Gareth Barry if he stood on Brighton beach in a blue and white striped shirt, a ball under his arm and a Seagull on his head.

"He'd recognise him now, though, from TV."

Gregory was warming to his Brighton theme. He recalled his playing days with a clarity of mind that belied the fact that 20 years had passed since he left the Goldstone to join Terry Venables at QPR.

He said: "You hang on to memories when they are good ones and they were good at Brighton.

"I lived in Ovingdean and I've still got friends down there and we still get come down from time to time. The families keep in touch.

Gregory recalls when Albion were fighting for survival in Division One in 1981 and needed to win their final two matches at Sunderland and at home to Leeds to make sure of staying up.

Gregory played in the match at Roker Park and recalled: "Little Stan Cummins stood next to me and told me 'you're down you lot'.

"A draw was enough for Sunderland to stay up, but within a minute Gary Williams scored the winner and we won 2-1."

Albion went onto beat Leeds 2-0 at The Goldstone, Steve Foster and Andy Ritchie scoring and Sunderland also survived after beating Liverpool on the final day.

Gregory enjoyed his away-days. He said: "Every away match we'd go out on the bus to Gatwick and catch a plane to Manchester, Ipswich or Newcastle. We flew to Leicester on Boxing Day that year and I played rightback against a left winger called Kevin McDonald, who is a reserve team coach at Villa now. I elbowed him and broke his nose and he has never forgotten."

Gregory described chairman Mike Bamber as a "top man".

He said: "He was willing to put his money into the club to buy players. He had a Bentley parked next door and told us that if we ever wanted to borrow it to just let him know. He was generous.

"Wherever we went we stayed in top class hotels and, if we weren't flying, had the whole of a first-class carriage on the Brighton Belle. Little old Brighton doing all that, you know. He was fantastic."

Gregory praised Alan Mullery, a big success during his first spell as manager at the Goldstone.

He said: "Like Bamber, he was great to work for. Alan was normally our best player in the five-a-side. He was 21 all over again and would charge around all over the place. Very infectious.

"Fozzie (Steve Foster) and I joined at the same time. Wardy (Peter Ward) was still there with Mark Lawrenson and Nobby Horton was the captain.

"All the boys were close. A good bunch of lads. The wives used to muck in too. There was a great spirit.

"It was that spirit that kept us up during the two years I was there."

Gregory was saddened by the demolition of the Goldstone ground and the club's subsequent problems.

He said: "It was awful what happened to the Goldstone. But they have got promotion now and Micky's done a fantastic job.

"He's a good lad. They've got a real diamond in him. He likes triers, because he's like that himself. They're in good hands."

The trip down memory Lane was a pleasant distraction.

It was all a far cry from his regular role in Villa's hot seat. He has to deal with staff, matches, 'Deadly' Doug Ellis, his larger-than-life chairman and the club's fickle fans who frequently call radio stations to moan about the manager and their team's lack of success.

As a manager he has to be adept at handling all sorts of characters. There are the experienced crew, Gareth Southgate, his Crawley-raised captain, Paul Merson and David Ginola.

He said: "It's not that hard dealing with millionaire players. The players have their own discipline. As soon as someone gets too carried away they bring them back down to earth themselves."

Gregory also enjoys dealing with the young bloods like Barry, 20, and Michael Standing, the 19-year-old reserve midfielder from Hove. Gregory said: "It's quite amazing how many games Gareth's played for us already. But one of the problems we had with him was talking.

"If we went to a hotel the waitress would come up with his dinner, he used to just sit there with his hand up and unless the waitress was particularly observant she wouldn't be able to find him. He was a bit like that on the pitch."