Steve Gritt had no idea what he was letting himself in for when he agreed to become Albion manager.

That was in terms of the hostile reaction he found he faced from fans after taking charge of the fourth tier’s bottom team.

Gritt was seen as the “puppet” of hated club chairman Bill Archer until he was able to convince supporters otherwise.

But there was another aspect he could surely never have anticipated when he met Archer in Crewe.

(“Why was the chairman in Crewe? He was trying to stay away from Brighton!”)

And that was that, 25 years on, he would be invited to the magnificent home of a Premier League and be feted as a hero by fans for the work he did in those few months in 1997.

Albion are chasing their highest-ever final league placing.

They will get it if they stay where they are although the aim is to climb at least a place into the top ten.

Gritt was in charge when the aim was to be in the top 91 and even that looked out of reach for a while.

It was 25 years ago today that the Goldstone Ground staged its final, and perhaps most important, match.

Doncaster were defeated 1-0 to help the Seagulls climb off bottom spot.

They stayed up a week later by drawing away to the only team below them, Hereford United.

It is a silver anniversary well worth marking, both on the pitch during Sunday’s draw with Southampton and last Friday night, when a packed lounge at the Amex cheered players and managers from through the Goldstone decades.

Favourites including Brian Powney, Eric Gill, John Templeman, Andy Rollings, Tony Towner, Steve Penney, John Byrne, Kevin Bremner and Robert Codner were among the VIPs at a fabulous event organised by Edward David and Billy Greening.

The climax of the evening was an interview with Gritt, who was in great form.

He put the final Goldstone season into a context which related it to the work being done in very different circumstances by Graham Potter and his team.

Gritt said: “Everyone within the squad that season did the job I asked them to do.

“They put their lives on the line, their bodies on the line and made sure this club had a future.

“That’s credit to them and I think now it’s a credit to all the other managers, the players, the fans and the people behind the scenes now that they have this magnificent stadium, hopefully from something we did all those years ago.”

Promotion-winning bosses Alan Mullery and Barry Lloyd were at the Amex on Friday.

Gritt faced a very different task in trying to keep Albion from the cliff edge.

They were bottom of the league by some way and battles were raging off the pitch in a bid to oust Archer.

Gritt said: “Day one, I let John Jackson take the training so I could have a look.

“Day two, Jeff Wood came in to be my assistant and we sat down and set about organising the team.

“I have said to many people but, when I got here, I couldn’t believe the players that were in the dressing room and where were they were in the league.

“The experience that was there and the young talent that was there as well, which I had been told about by John.

“It was a strange situation to come into. I felt we could do better.

“We tried to organise them the best we could for that first game on the Saturday and thankfully it worked. We scored in the first five or ten minutes.

“One or two things happened around that were quite interesting as well for the first game as a new manager.

“Thankfully we got the three points that day and carried on from there.

“From day one I tried to emphasise to everyone that I wasn’t here to be a puppet to anyone.

“I wanted to be my own man.

“I wanted to make sure the team tried to start playing well, tried to start winning.

“If the team were winning, hopefully I could win the supporters around.

“It was difficult in the first couple of days without a shadow of a doubt.

“You’d see graffiti on the wall – spelt wrongly!

“And you are being asked by photographers to come out before a game and all of a sudden you are out in the middle of the pitch to a chorus of boos.

“It’s not quite the entrance you want to make at a new club.

“What with that and the whistle protest – and the referee coming in and saying ‘this is my whistle, this is their whistle’ and the players have got to try and get through that.

“It was always going to be an interesting time.

“Then the guy who chained himself to the post.

“We were 2-0 up and I didn’t want the game stopped.

“We got through the first game.

“We then went to Orient having reduced the deficit.

“Unfortunately, we lost 2-0 and all of a sudden the police are knocking on the door of the dressing room saying ‘can you come out and move your supporters?’ because they were protesting again.

“We had a meeting with the supporters shortly after that somewhere near the pier.

“It was a long room and we were right at the back and I said to Jeff, ‘if it kicks off in here, we’re not getting out!’.

“I think Fans Day had a lot to do with how things went on.

“The fans then got to know me and I got to know them.

BRIGHTON TAKING GOOD CARE OF ADAM WEBSTER

“Fans Day was a fabulous day. The colours, the shirts, everything about it.

“The only thing I was worried about was the fog coming down in the second half because we were three or four up at the time.

“We played really well and won 5-0 and that seemed to cement my relationship with the fans.

“I think the Charlton fans had a lot to do with that.

“They came down that day as well and supported me so I was very grateful to them.”

Survival came down to the last two games. Doncaster was must-win.

Ross Johnson was very honest as he told Friday’s event he was “petrified” about playing for his hometown club in such a huge game and the responsibility it entailed.

But Albion came through as Stuart Storer scored the only goal.

BRIGHTON'S JEREMY SARMIENTO LIMPS OUT OF CHELSEA MATCH

Gritt said: “The Doncaster game was always going to be a big game.

“Not just because of the importance of it within our season but the importance to the supporters.

“Everybody had been going to the Goldstone for God knows how many years. All the players who had played there.

“Everybody knows what a special ground it was.

“I played there for Charlton – sometimes good, sometimes bad.

“But it was a smashing ground, a great ground to play at.

“When there was a big crowd in there, it really had a great atmosphere. Thankfully we were allowed to get more fans in that day, which enhanced the atmosphere.

“It was a very emotional day for those who had seen the club play for years and years.”

It wasn’t quite the end of the final season of the Goldstone era.

That came a week later with the 1-1 draw at Hereford which kept Albion in the league and is widely considered the club’s most important match ever.

That point, secured by Robbie Reinelt goal, has been celebrated over the last few days. The club will show a full re-run of the game on their YouTube channel on Monday.

But thoughts of those who used to make their way along Old Shoreham Road on matchdays will turn back exactly 25 years today. To a wet Saturday when their beloved home enjoyed its final hurrah.