ALBION boss Micky Adams has set his sights on automatic promotion.

The Third Division table is starting to take shape, with almost a quarter of the season gone.

Adams is satisfied with the progress made so far by the side he has re-assembled. But he believes "the best is yet to come" and will be "disappointed" if they make the play-offs.

The Seagulls are sixth going into their first home game for three weeks against third-bottom York on Saturday.

Fifth-bottom Shrewsbury visit Withdean next Tuesday, then Albion have a further opportunity to improve their position away to lowly newcomers Cheltenham before a break from League action for the FA Cup.

Adams said: "I expected three or four clubs to have opened up a little gap, but the only team to have really pulled away is Barnet.

"We've had a steady start and I am pleased with what we have done. I would have expected us to be maybe two or three points better off, but we have not lost too much ground on the clubs above us.

"Two points per game gets you promoted, it's as simple as that. One and a half gets you into the play-offs, but I would be disappointed if we finished with 69 points.

"At the moment if you look at our record we are a play-off team, but I think the best is yet to come."

New signing Danny Cullip has helped Albion rediscover their defensive mean streak and, with Warren Aspinall pulling the strings in midfield, Adams believes the goals will soon start flowing again.

"I have always prided myself on being defensively sound," he said. "We had a little spell when we couldn't keep a clean sheet, but the introduction of Danny Cullip has helped us enormously.

"He is a defender who likes to defend and that is the type of player you need to succeed at this level.

"We are still creating chances, although maybe not as many as we were. That's not a worry to me, because we have got players more than capable of scoring goals.

"We are still a couple short of a Championship winning team, but I am happy with the squad I have got.

"You get periods in the season when you cannot see where the next win is coming from, but maybe we've had that now."

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