Gus Poyet admits he does not know whether Inigo Calderon can expect a quick return to the Albion defence.

But the Seagulls boss has told The Argus his right-back was left out against Crystal Palace on Tuesday for tactical reasons.

Calderon was replaced by Mauricio Taricco, known as Tano, in the wake of the 3-3 draw with Leeds.

Poyet said: “I don’t know if Calde will play on Saturday.

“There is nothing wrong. He missed one game. He played every game until Tuesday, then he missed one.

“There is no problem. I talk to players and they know where they stand.

“It was a decision that I wanted to play Tano and, when he was on the pitch, can you name me a better Brighton player?”

Poyet has underlined his belief that Albion have made a great start to life in the Championship, despite recent disappointments.

He said: “We have just come up a division and we’ve won five, drawn two and lost two. Change the win at Cardiff or at Portsmouth with the result against Palace and everything would be fantastic.

"I'm realistic. Of all the people who talk publicly, I am the most realistic.

"I don't think that because we are top after five games we are going up.

"That wasn't my aim at the beginning of the season. It's not my aim now.

"In March if we are in the top three or four we can start thinking about going up but, if we are tenth, maybe not.

"But I like the excitement. That's not a problem."