Leo Ulloa opens up about his return to Brighton and Hove Albion

His first season at the Seagulls finished with the shattering disappointment of losing to Crystal Palace at the Amex in the Championship play-offs.

It was a similar story the following year as, shortly after he sneaked Albion into the top six with a late winner on the last day at Nottingham Forest, they were dumped out of the play-offs again by Derby County (below).

Ulloa is desperate for third time lucky in the fight against relegation from the Premier League after rejoining on loan from Leicester for the rest of the season.

He told The Argus: "I hope so, that we can finish happily at the end. The last two seasons were sad because we fought, we tried to give everything and to do everything but it wasn't enough.

"So I hope this time we can change things and the end is happy and we gain the objective, which is to stay in the Premier.

"First of all because we are here but secondly because this club deserves to be here a long time. I think Brighton as a club improved a lot in the last five, six, seven years.

"They continue to improve all the time and so it is important for the club to maintain this status for a long time and I hope they do."

Ulloa became an unexpected Premier League title winner in his second season at Leicester but his first season in the East Midlands is more relevant to Albion's plight.

The Foxes, promoted as champions, battled to stay up in the 2014-15 campaign. They eventually finished 14th and Ulloa top scored with 11 league goals, more than twice as many as any other player, including four in the last seven games.

He said: "I think the year winning the title started the year before when we fought together as a group for one object. It was safety.

"That was the moment we started to win the title. The next year was different but that was more important. The group has to start strong. That is more difficult in football.

"Every changing room is different and the players are different so when you fight together it helps everyone. Everything starts the same way and you can reach the objective. Okay, afterwards the players improved, but the other (team spirit) is more important, for me, than the tactics or what happens on the pitch."

Expecting Albion to win the league next year is asking too much but Ulloa is confident they can do a Leicester by staying among the elite.

He said: "Yes, of course. If I didn’t believe that I'm not here. This group plays well and they have character. And character to play, not just defend the box all the time.

"They try in the Premier League to fight and to play but with a philosophy and that is very important, to continue what they did in the Championship.

"Try to play the same football. They create chances, they play football. Okay, you can lose but you play one way, you don't change every time. I believe Brighton can do this."

It is three-and-a-half years since Ulloa, now 31, last kicked a ball for Albion. The Argentinian is a different player - and person - from the one that left for Leicester after 26 goals in 58 games (below), spread over a "very intense" 18 months.

He said: I have more experience of football, I learned very good things in Leicester, I improved as a player in different aspects because I played different tactics as I played for the team.

"After the first year I arrived we fought relegation and we did a good job. We kept Leicester in the league and after we won the title. Each situation was different but it was massive for experience.

"That improved me as a player and a person as well. I lived different things and I think now I'm a better person in the group. I want to enjoy life and enjoy football.

"The problem when I arrived here (at Albion) was that a lot of people spoke Spanish, not just players but also the staff.

"In Leicester nobody spoke Spanish so I had to improve my English because I am a person who likes to have relationships with people."

Many of the faces in the dressing room have changed but veteran Spanish skipper Bruno (above) is still going strong and Lewis Dunk has matured into a sought-after central defender during the period that Ulloa has been away.

He said: "Bruno has a lot of experience and he is now a big name in the club and in the city. He is more important in the group and on the pitch. He is more important in the changing room and that’s good. He has more experience than all the other players. He is really important for the club.

"Dunky has improved a lot and some of the big clubs want him. But when I was here I could see his quality and technical level but now he has made a name because he is in this situation."

Ulloa's return has also reunited him with Anthony Knockaert, a team-mate in his first season at Leicester.

"I always like to play with good players and he is a very good player with a lot of quality," Ulloa said. "As a person he's always happy in the changing room, he tries to help. He's a good player and it's very good to see him again."

Ulloa faces competition for the target man role from Glenn Murray and Tomer Hemed, who have been sharing the duty up to now.

"I came here to fight in a good way," he said. "If we fight it's good for the group and the level improves because everyone wants to give their best and show the manager that we want to play.

"It's not bad, it's a good thing. Then it's a problem for the manager, not the players, and he can choose the best team to play."

Ulloa has been stewing on the sidelines at Leicester. His last Premier League start for them was in April.

He signed a new contract in the summer but has made just four league appearances as a substitute this season totalling 19 minutes under Craig Shakespeare, then Claude Puel (above).

"I expected to play and so I renewed the contract but everything can happen in football," he said. "We changed the manager and the result wasn't good.

"I was training and fighting every day but it wasn't enough. I accept the decision of the managers, they have to choose between three four or five strikers and they select who plays.

"I accept that but I like to play, be involved with the group and help. I stayed with the group and wanted to help but couldn't do that. Now I want to look forward and I'm fighting against other strikers in another club with another manager but I just hope to be happy here."

The fans that hero worshipped him first time around will be happy to see him back.

"It's special because I played just one and a half years here, not five or ten, but it was very intense," he said.

"So I hope to keep that feeling but I know I have to do my job. I have to show them that I am still good and try to help the team. After that we'll see what happens but I hope we can keep our relationship."