Dick Knight says Albion manager Dean Wilkins has a "healthy budget" for next season.

The chairman suggested at the weekend it is, in fact, lower than for the current campaign, which might just explain why Albion have been able to cut season ticket prices by five per cent when they are in such a parlous financial state.

They were £253,000 in the red for the year to June 2006, when they were relegated from the Championship, a big drop from the previous year's losses of more than £1m.

But that figure included the sales of Adam Virgo to Celtic and Dan Harding to Leeds for a combined total of around £2m.

Without those transfer deals, the operating losses would have been over £4m, which is quite frightening and a further indication of why the July verdict on the new stadium at Falmer is so critical to the club's future.

July could be a big month for Albion in another respect as well. It is when Bobby Zamora and Virgo were sold in recent seasons. Will their most saleable asset have to be offloaded?

A number of Premiership and Championship clubs have been monitoring Joel Lynch's progress this season.

If one of them comes in with, for example, a £500,000 bid during the summer, with add-ons relating to future club and international appearances in recognition of his potential, then Albion will find it terribly hard to turn it down.

Fans might argue Virgo was not worth three times more than Lynch but the comparison is unrealistic. The Seagulls had Mark McGhee's special relationship with Celtic chief Gordon Strachan to thank for that extraordinary deal.

Also, the going rate for strikers is generally much higher than for defenders so it is worth remembering Virgo was sold off the back of his relegation-saving exploits as an emergency centre forward.