Beram Kayal has said that he is confident Brighton & Hove Albion can challenge for a top-six finish in the Championship this campaign.

The Seagulls struggled for large parts of last season and eventually finished down in 20th place.

Despite his side's relegation scare, Kayal insists that he saw enough last time out to suggest Brighton can challenge at the right end of the table once again.

"I think you're going to play against a few teams who are at the top this season who were at the bottom last season and you can see the difference is not massive," the Israeli international told The Argus.

"We beat Derby last season and they were near the playoffs and then we played well against two of the teams that went up, Norwich and Watford, so I feel like the difference is not massive.

"The gap between the top and bottom teams is small and we can catch them. That is why we brought in a few players this season. That is the reason why we brought in new players to fight near the top."

Albion get their Championship season underway next Friday when they take on Nottingham Forest at The Amex.