Lee Steele should have been looking forward to Christmas.

He was due to make a rare start on Boxing Day, when Bobby Zamora is banned for the visit to Barnet.

Instead Steele is facing another spell on the sidelines after damaging his right knee in a car crash last week.

The accident, which happened after Steele had attended Albion's Christmas dinner at the Grand Hotel in Brighton, is shrouded in mystery.

Manager Micky Adams gave him a couple of days off to "get his head right".

Adams then added to the intrigue with a curious remark about Albion's below-par performance at Mansfield last Saturday, which may or may not be connected.

"There were underlying factors that I don't want to talk about and which will be kept in house," he said.

The crash is another blow to Steele's hopes of commanding a regular first team place.

The Liverpudlian striker has suffered a series of misfortunes since joining Albion in the summer on a Bosman free transfer from Shrewsbury, where he was top scorer for the last three seasons.

Steele sustained ankle ligament damage minutes into his debut as a second half substitute in the Seagulls' opening day defeat at Southend.

The injury took longer than expected to heal, prompting the former public school boy to consider asking a priest to bless his unlucky No. 13 squad number.

Steele returned to the squad in mid-September, just after Adams had changed the system from 4-4-2 to playing Zamora alone up front.

The 27-year-old's luck seemed to have turned when he came off the bench to score the winner, his first goal for the club, at Darlington at the end of October.

He scored again a week later on his full debut, at home to Carlisle, but found himself back on the bench following a 0-0 draw at Macclesfield as Charlie Oatway returned from suspension.

Now it will be well into the New Year before Steele is back in action.

Steele has fond memories of Exeter, tomorrow night's visitors to Withdean.

He helped Shrewsbury to a relegation rescuing 2-1 win at St James Park in his farewell appearance for them on the final day last season.

Exeter are now in relegation trouble themselves, just two places and six points above bottom club Carlisle.

But a move to the West Country has revived the fortunes of former Albion defender Jamie Campbell.

The Withdean fans will see Campbell in an unfamiliar role. "I have played every game, except for two or three I missed in the League with a calf injury, and I have mainly been centre half," he explained.

"That is where I played last Saturday. I was a leftback for Brighton, but my preferred position is centre half.

"We started off the season okay. It's a new team with something like 16 or 17 new players together at once and that takes time to gel. We are just not really taking our chances at the moment."

Campbell, who now lives in Torquay and has a two-year contract with Noel Blake's men, is philosophical about his failure last season with Albion.

"I hold my hands up, it didn't work out," he said. "It was just one of those things.

"Micky Adams is doing well with the team and I am not at all surprised by how well they are doing.

"It will be disappointing if they don't get promotion or at least make the play-offs. They have got a strong squad."

Campbell was quick to ask about the state of the Withdean pitch. Intensive repairs have been carried out by Stadium managers Ecovert South since Albion's last home match against Cardiff on December 5.

Martin Perry, Albion's chief executive, revealed: "The areas of the pitch that were badly affected, close to the dugouts and on the other side close to the North Stand, have been dug out.

"A drainage layer has been put down and they have been re-turfed.

"The work ought to help. Hopefully the water will drain through the pitch."

The test will come early in the New Year. Albion are at home to Southend on January 1, Lincoln on January 6 and Brentford on January 9 in the second round southern section of the LDV Vans Trophy.

That will be a real old boys reunion. Adams managed Brentford, of course, and his assistant Bob Booker is a former Brentford stalwart.

Danny Cullip, Darren Freeman, Charlie Oatway and Paul Watson all joined Albion from the Bees, while transfer-listed Italian Lorenzo Pinamonte could be playing for Brentford following his loan spell with the Seagulls last season.

Pinamonte is mulling over a couple of offers in Italy and from Melbourne in Australia, but he wants to stay in England.

Tickets for the Brentford tie went on sale yesterday and Albion have reduced the prices again, as they did for the Cardiff match in the first round.