Chris Hughton is right, December is big for his Albion side.

By the time they face Cardiff again at the Amex at the end of the month, the season will be more than halfway over for the Seagulls.

They do not want to lose momentum again, as happened last year in December when they dropped 12 points out of 18 and suffered two of their three home defeats.

Significant as the last month of 2016 is going to be, the first month of 2017 will be even more important.

January will be a crunch period, even though progress in the FA Cup could reduce the number of Championship fixtures for Albion to just three.

Ianuarius, as the month is known in Latin after the word for door, is when the prospect of Premier League football for Albion next season could be flung open, for two reasons.

The first is the January transfer window, the chance for teams mid-season to re-think or push on.

 

Although owner-chairman Tony Bloom generally dislikes doing business in January, Albion successfully exploited the window last year by snapping up Anthony Knockaert, as well as Jiri Skalak and Steve Sidwell (below).

The Argus: They need to capitalise again by landing the extra striker they missed out on in the summer window.

It is tempting to look at the table and believe the Seagulls can get away with no business.

That would be a mistake. An extended absence for either Glenn Murray or Sam Baldock would leave them vulnerable up front.

Albion will be linked with all sorts of players, some more credible than others.

They do not require another target man - Tomer Hemed can cover Murray for that role. They need another attacker who can play off one of them, a Baldock-type secondary striker or No.10 after Norwich snatched Alex Pritchard from their grasp in the summer.

The landscape of the promotion race will also be affected by the business undertaken by rivals pursuing a top two, or top six, finish.

The January window will be more vital than ever before, because for the first time this season there is no opportunity to strengthen further afterwards via loan signings following the abolition of short-term borrowing.

There is another reason why January will provide an opportunity for Albion to put daylight between themselves and several rivals.

They have lost Gaetan Bong for the visit of Leeds to the Amex on Friday evening after his late red card at Cardiff.

The Argus: His fall-out with Cameroon ensures Bong (above right) will not be absent for an extended period in the New Year. Others are not so lucky.

The African Cup of Nations, switched from Libya to Gabon for security reasons, begins on January 14.

Allowing for pre-tournament squad gathering and progression through to the later stages, players involved could be missing from action for their clubs for up to six weeks.

The good news for Albion is several rivals will be weakened by the loss of key players, none more so than narrow leaders Newcastle United.

They will be without former Hull midfielder Mohamed Diamé (Senegal) and on-loan Chelsea striker Christian Atsu (Ghana).

Congo central defender Chancel Mbemba helped the Toon to a clean sheet against Albion in August and Achraf Lazaar (Morocco) provides back-up for Rafa Benitez at left-back.

Birmingham, Albion's hosts on Saturday week, lose Mbemba's fellow countryman Jacques Maghoma. Norwich are in the same boat with Youssouf Mulumbu.

Aston Villa will arguably be hardest hit of all, as they will be without leading marksman Jonathan Kodija (Ivory Coast) together with Ghana forward Jordan Ayew.

Leeds could also be hit if French-born front man Soulemane Doukara maintains his rich vein of recent form, since he is eligible for Senegal.

Hughton's father is Ghanaian. His dad's home continent could become a 12th man in January for Albion.