Manager Chris Hughton has said that Brighton & Hove Albion cannot afford to drop their "level" if the club are to remain in the Premier League.

With eight matches left, Brighton sit in 12th position in the top-flight standings while holding a six-point advantage over the bottom three.

However, the Seagulls have suffered defeats to Everton and Manchester United in their last two fixtures, and Hughton has called on his players to ensure that they do not underperform during the closing weeks of the campaign.

At a press conference, the 59-year-old told reporters: "I'd have been delighted if someone told me we would be in this position. When you go into the season you know you'll have a motivated team who will give everything they can to make sure we stay in this division. But you just don't know.

"The signs were there early in the season that we could at least compete but competing and getting results in this division are two different things.

"We have eight games left and we have some very difficult games and we will have to play at a level to get points that are needed to stay up."

Brighton play host to Leicester City at the Amex Stadium on Saturday afternoon.