Shaky win and Wilkins' future

Yet this was the case on Tuesday night.

The Albion had left it late at the Withdean, with two goals in the last 10 minutes against Cheltenham Town, to win 2-1 '” all played, I hasten to add, in front of the smallest league crowd, little over 4,000, in the Albion's nine-year Withdean tenancy.

Playing devil's advocate, I can see both sides of the argument.

A win and the three points were very welcome but it wasn't pretty, and against a better side the Albion might have struggled.

Wilkins' side didn't have the best of starts.

They conceded inside four minutes against the lowly Robins and, while the remainder of the first half spawned a number of Albion chances, it was no surprise when the Seagulls left the pitch at half-time to a chorus of boos.

The second half wasn't much better, but lady luck eventually smiled on the Albion and the win was secured.

Just what the tone of the phone-in would have been had the Seagulls lost, I dread to think. I would probably have been coming home with the milkman.

As it was, the overriding theme of the 55 minutes we had on air was that the manager's time was up.

Some stated that if he didn't go, relegation would be the ultimate outcome.

Talk of relegation is complete over-reaction, but the size of the attendances indicate that a number of people are already voting with their feet.

Part of the criticism aimed at Wilkins is his persona.

There is no way of getting away from it, he is a very deep and sometimes dour person, but that doesn't make him a bad manager.

Sir Alex Ferguson doesn't exactly behave like Sammy Davis Junior, does he?

It appears at the moment that whatever Wilkins says or does in his post-match interviews, a section of the support will take pot shots at him.

That's how bad it was after the game on Tuesday. But a win is a win.

In 100 years' time, the record books will still show that Brighton won that game '” however bad the performance.

Whether or not the winning goal crossed the line, it won't matter. Three points were won. End of story.

But clearly, to some supporters, it's not the end of the story, and it also begs the question, are they a noisy minority or the voice piece for the silent majority?

"Papering over the cracks" was a recurring sound bite on both the text line and in a number of the calls on Tuesday.

If that is the case, some might argue that Wilkins is possibly only a couple of defeats from an Albion exit.

It's almost the scenario of 'is the glass half-full or half-empty?"

In my opinion, talk of relegation is ludicrous, so therefore sacking the manager now would be nothing short of stupid.

There is an outside chance the Albion could yet mount a play-off challenge, but even the most optimistic of Brighton fans, a category in which I put myself, are beginning to think the chances are increasingly remote.

If things are that bad, it's nothing that cannot be sorted out at the end of the season.

I firmly believe Dean Wilkins has a long-term future at the club, and all the time Dick Knight and the board of Albion directors share that opinion, nothing will change.