There is one significant difference between the Albion squad Micky Adams has assembled this season compared to last.

The numbers may be down slightly, but he has much greater strength in depth.

Quality at the expense of quantity was emphasised at Nyewood Lane on Saturday, when a first half double by Lee Steele secured a comfortable 2-0 victory against makeshift Bognor.

Last season the likes of Gary Hart, Darren Freeman, Paul Rogers and Charlie Oatway were virtually guaranteed a place. Now practically no one is safe.

There is fierce competition in all departments, with the possible exception of the goalkeeping position. That will change as well, because Adams will surely at some stage have to add another No.1 to accompany rookie Dutchman Michels Kuipers and youngster Will Packham, if only as cover.

At the back, the fight will hot up once Danny Cullip and Nathan Jones have served their two match suspensions and in front of them Adams has some difficult choices to make.

If, for example, he starts off with two wide men in the 4-4-2 system which proved so profitable towards the end of last season, how does he fit Rogers, Oatway and newcomer Richard Carpenter into the centre of midfield?

They were introduced as a trio for the second half on Saturday, but only after Paul Brooker had been withdrawn from the left.

Freeman now appears to be regarded even more as a right winger than an orthodox striker following Steele's arrival and should Adams land the target man he is seeking then Steele and Hart will presumably be battling for one spot.

Maybe self preservation was a motive for the pair talking up their partnership!

This kind of quality competition is healthy and would certainly be envied by Bognor boss Jack Pearce. Holidays and injuries robbed him of so many players that he had to field a patched-up team with only one substitute.

Albion, with Brooker and Freeman on the flanks and latest capture Stephen Melton partnering Danny Davis in the middle of the park, threatened to run riot in the first half.

Without exaggerating, Steele might have scored half-a-dozen in the opening 45 minutes. He headed narrowly over, had a lob deflected onto the crossbar, volleyed just wide and made a mess of his easiest chance, when a Kerry Mayo cross found him unmarked and with more time than he imagined.

The pugnacious Steele, a menace to the Bognor defence throughout, made up for that with two well taken goals. He opened the scoring on 27 minutes with a sharp turn and low shot past John Keeley after Paul Watson pulled a corner back to Davis on the edge of the box.

Steele struck in similar fashion two minutes from the break, swivelling this time onto a pass from Mayo before driving the ball home from a central position 12 yards out.

Third Division defences may not be quite so accommodating, but on the evidence so far the Liverpudlian livewire could turn out to be a steal, especially once he reaches peak fitness.

Having fatigued the players with a hilly run in training the day before, Adams made six substitutions at the break, three in midfield and three at the back.

The Seagulls lost some balance with Brooker's departure, although Freeman exploited the space he was given down the right without quite managing to produce a telling final cross.

Freeman was among three further changes and his replacement Scott Ramsay, Hart and Steele all went close to reflecting Albion's dominance with further goals.

Bognor, to their credit, battled against the odds right to the end. Packham, on for the untroubled Kuipers, had to tip over a Neil Scammell header with seven minutes left and then parried a shot from Michael Birmingham when the Rocks' captain broke clear in stoppage time.

A satisfied Adams said: "In terms of fitness we are about where we want to be. Now we will start sharpening things up, working on our hustling and other aspects of the game.

"What I saw pleased me, because lessons are being learnt. I am a little bit disappointed that we weren't more clinical in front of goal, although I am not having a go at the strikers when I say that. I mean generally."

Albion's build up to the big kick-off continues at the Pilot Field tomorrow night. "We need to beat Hastings, then we are the champions of Sussex. That's what we are going for!" joked Adams.

Champions of Division Three is what the fans hope Albion will be going for this season and the extra strength in depth Adams has injected into his squad this summer can only help achieve that goal.

Bognor: Keeley, Waterman, Chandler, Wright, Pickering, Murphy, R. Andrews, Birmingham, Miles, Wyatt, Scammell. Sub: Musselwhite for Miles (injured 70).

Albion: Kuipers, Watson, Mayo, Davis, Carr, Crosby, Freeman, Steele, Hart, Melton, Brooker. Subs: Carpenter, Cullip, Rogers, Oatway, Hemsley and Jones for Melton, Crosby, Brooker, Davis, Carr and Mayo (45), Packham for Kuipers (63), Ramsay for Freeman (66), B. Andrews for Watson (71).