Dean White insists he is happy with his new role as head scout at Albion.

White was switched from reserve team manager as part of a backroom reshuffle last week.

It was one of the changes made as a compromise solution to resolve the future of Mark McGhee, which was prompted by investor Tony Bloom.

White held a similar position when he first joined the Seagulls under Micky Adams.

He said: "This is not a step backwards for me, this is something which I was working quite intensely on anyway.

"We talked about expanding our scouting network last Christmas and I have been doing a lot of it ever since.

"I missed quite a few first team games at the end of the season because I was going to look at players. I went to places like France and Poland and was travelling all over the country.

"It was difficult for me to give it my full attention but now I can concentrate and develop it.

"I did enjoy working with the young players but this is something I am happy doing. It gives me the chance to set up contacts across the country and to travel abroad."

White believes scouting is an area Albion have failed to fully exploit and has big plans for the future.

He said: "A club like ours doesn't have lots of money to buy players so youth and scouting are very important.

"You have to be ahead of the game and to get players before others do. We have to look at setting up agents in other countries to try to pick up players we might usually miss.

"Other clubs are doing it, you can see that by the number of foreigners in the gameand we don't want to be left behind.

"Football is a global game now, so we have to make sure we are part of it. But it is not just abroad where we need to expand.

"If you look at our youth teams, they are mainly made up of boys from Sussex. We have to look all over the country to get the best players."

The nine-out-of-contract players are due to have their futures resolved today.