Gary Dicker looks back fondly on his four years with Albion and harbours an ambition to renew his links with the club one day.
Speaking to Richard Newman in the Football, Albion and Me podcast the 33-year-old midfielder, who is currently with Scottish Premier Division club Kilmarnock, reflected on his time with Albion when Gus Poyet guided the Seagulls to promotion to the Championship a few months before the Amex was opened.
“I remember Gus’s first speech to us, from the first minute all of the lads were on board,” he said. “He spoke about how we were going to play and how everyone would get their chance. It was a very exciting time to be part of the club, especially with the new stadium being built at the same time,” he said.
Dicker had joined on loan from Stockport in 2009 but with no clause in his contract stipulating otherwise, he was able to play against his parent club on the final day of the season in a 1-0 win that kept Albion in League One.
The move was made permanent and two years later Dicker was a key member of the side which won promotion to the Championship. He made nearly 150 appearances for the club and later had spells with Crawley, Carlisle and Rochdale before heading to Rugby Park.
Dicker is assistant manager of Kilmarnock’s reserves and is working on his coaching qualifications. He still lives in Steyning and a visit to the American Express Elite Performance Centre for the first time recently fired his coaching ambitions. “The set-up is fantastic,” he said. “I’m doing my badges at the moment and if there was an opportunity to work for the club again in the future I’d love to be involved.”
As well as Gary, podcast host Richard Newman has spoken to Stuart Storer and other important figures from the club’s past in recent weeks. To listen click here