[h=3]Gus tells Albion: Relish this derby[/h] 9:00am Thursday 14th March 2013 in Albion By Brian Owen
Gus Poyet
Gus Poyet has urged his beleaguered Albion squad to relish their big derby day challenge.
The injury and suspension hit Seagulls host high-flying Crystal Palace on Sunday aiming to put their play-off bid back on track.
Albion suffered another blow yesterday when the FA confirmed Ashley’s Barnes’ four-game ban could be extended.
Barnes has until 6pm today to respond to an FA charge that he committed violent conduct at Bolton deserving of greater punishment than the usual three-match ban.
The striker was dismissed for trying to trip referee Nigel Miller just seconds from full-time.
His ban has already been extended by one match to four as it was his second red card of the season.
Adam El-Abd is also suspended, Craig Mackail-Smith and Will Hoskins are out for the season and Bruno and Wayne Bridge could also miss out.
Palace, currently fourth in the table, will pose a massive threat in front of a record crowd of about 28,500 at The Amex.
Poyet, though, declared: “If I was playing I would love to have this game now. But it’s not me. It depends on who is playing.
“We’ll see. We still have a great chance of the play-offs. Everybody is beating everybody.”
Poyet, whose side took just one point from three away trips over the past ten days, hopes to know today whether either his choice full-backs stand a chance of playing.
Bruno limped out of Tuesday’s 1-0 defeat at Barnsley with calf and Achilles problems while Bridge (hamstring) has only played 66 minutes in the last four matches.
Original article
Gus Poyet has urged his beleaguered Albion squad to relish their big derby day challenge.
The injury and suspension hit Seagulls host high-flying Crystal Palace on Sunday aiming to put their play-off bid back on track.
Albion suffered another blow yesterday when the FA confirmed Ashley’s Barnes’ four-game ban could be extended.
Barnes has until 6pm today to respond to an FA charge that he committed violent conduct at Bolton deserving of greater punishment than the usual three-match ban.
The striker was dismissed for trying to trip referee Nigel Miller just seconds from full-time.
His ban has already been extended by one match to four as it was his second red card of the season.
Adam El-Abd is also suspended, Craig Mackail-Smith and Will Hoskins are out for the season and Bruno and Wayne Bridge could also miss out.
Palace, currently fourth in the table, will pose a massive threat in front of a record crowd of about 28,500 at The Amex.
Poyet, though, declared: “If I was playing I would love to have this game now. But it’s not me. It depends on who is playing.
“We’ll see. We still have a great chance of the play-offs. Everybody is beating everybody.”
Poyet, whose side took just one point from three away trips over the past ten days, hopes to know today whether either his choice full-backs stand a chance of playing.
Bruno limped out of Tuesday’s 1-0 defeat at Barnsley with calf and Achilles problems while Bridge (hamstring) has only played 66 minutes in the last four matches.
Original article