Poyet wants his players to reach for the stars

 Source: The Argus

 9:30am Wednesday 10th November 2010

* By Andy Naylor »

Albion chief Gus Poyet has told his potential record-breakers to keep on reaching for the stars.

Poyet’s runaway League One leaders are on the brink of club history at Hartlepool on Saturday.

The Seagulls are unbeaten in 12 games and another victory at Victoria Park will clinch their best-ever start to a season, eclipsing a standard set in 1926.

Poyet has urged his players to keep on trying to break records in their quest for promotion to the Championship.

He told The Argus: “You need to aim for the best if you want to become successful in any job.

“We are going there with the mentality of winning the game, then we need to deal with Hartlepool, the weather, the pitch, the referee, normal things.

“The aim is to be the best and make every kind of record we can. That doesn’t mean we are going to achieve it but if you don’t aim for it you have got no chance.”

Casper Ankergren, Gordon Greer, Adam El-Abd, Radostin Kishishev and Elliott Bennett, pictured, are all poised to return to the starting line-up in the North East after they were rested for last Saturday’s 0-0 FA Cup draw at home to Woking.

Hartlepool will be without suspended skipper Ritchie Humphreys after losing their FA appeal against the first red card of his 600-game career in the FA Cup draw at Vauxhall Motors.

Poyet wants Albion to adopt an open door policy at Withdean for fans of second round opponents FC United of Manchester if Albion negotiate next Tuesday’s replay at Woking.

FC United, formed by disenchanted Manchester United fans, have attracted lots of publicity and Poyet would like to see Withdean packed out for their possible visit.

He said: “The bigger the crowd the better for the players. If, with all respect to Woking, we go through then I would like them to bring as many fans as they want.

“I know the club have to think about security and plenty of other things but, from my point of view, if they want to bring 4,000 then let them bring 4,000.”

Albion have been allocated 1,350 tickets for the Woking tie, available to season ticket holders from 5pm yesterday, blue members from 5pm today and white members from 5pm tomorrow.