A former Albion player had a very special day at the Amex – as his old club shone on and off the pitch.

Alan Grant was among the crowd who watched the Seagulls thrash Wolves 6-0 in the sunshine recently.

Alan was a half-back who doubled up as back-up goalkeeper for Albion between 1956 and 1960 having been signed by Billy Lane.

Now 88, he made his first trip to the stadium and was given a warm welcome.

Tim Carder, the club historian, enjoyed chatting to Alan and going over match reports of games in which he featured.

Alan’s son John thanked Tim for that and said: “The club were great in making a disabled space available at short notice, making an announcement over the PA and mentioning Dad in the programme notes.

“He felt really special and was looked after on the day by all the stewards around us as we all savoured the atmosphere.”

John hopes to reunite his dad with former goalkeepers Eric Gill and Dave Hollins, subjects of Spencer Vignes’s book Eric & Dave, in the near future, so they can reminisce about the days of the Goldstone Ground.

Alan went on to play for Exeter and Arsenal before knee replacements were necessary, bringing an early end to his young career.

FA coaching at Lilleshall led him to working at many of the South Coast non-league clubs during the 1960s and 1970s.