Gus Poyet singled out Jamie Smith for praise, after the youngster gave an impressive Withdean bow in Albion's final first-team friendly, before the season curtain-raiser at Swindon in seven days time.
Smith played his way into contention for next week's opener, and Poyet explained, "I can see everyone was surprised by Jamie Smith, but I see him everyday in training so I know what he can do.
"We got him last year and when I arrived I could see his quality but it was difficult for him to adapt because we were in a very difficult situation. I wanted to keep him and let him do my pre-season to see how fit and strong he can get and everyone could see today what Jamie Smith is all about.
"He is good on the ball, he can go right or left, he can have a shot and he sees football in a different way which I like, but the problem was trying to find a position for him in the team. For different reasons today the missing player on the left side gave him his opportunity to play and he took it, so I am very pleased for him."
Poyet was equally enthused by the convicning 1-0 win over the SPL outfit, and also paid tribute to summer signing Matt Sparrow, after his first appearance in Albion colours at Withdean.
"There are still no points from the game, but it was important for us to finish pre-season with a proper performance ready for the next game.
"It was a very good performance. It was a game that we were in control of all the time, we didn't know too much about the way that they play so we were having a look the first ten minutes, but the players did that and then they started playing the way that we want to play.
"For long periods we were controlling the game but were not creating chances, and we were a bit sparse with our opportunities but then we started creating when we started having shots.
"We had a good pre-season with [Gordon] Greer and [Radostin] Kishishev, but the difference today was when everyone on the pitch started getting tired Matt Sparrow kept running. He gives us an extra bit. When everyone else is looking down he is making forward runs, looking for the ball and he keeps going.
"He became a better and better player as the team went past the hour mark. He had two or three great shots, he kept moving the ball around and he made us play the last 25 minutes, that's why he is here."
Meanwhile Poyet confirmed he will name a new club captain early next week.
