Aileen Whelan admits it will be a special occasion when Albion return to the Amex to kick off their Barclays Women's Super League campaign on Sunday.
Whelan hopes to maintain her record of playing in every WSL game for the Albion since promotion in 2018 when they take on West Ham United.
It will be the first time Albion have played at the Amex since beating Birmingham City 3-0 in 2019 and Whelan says the squad are looking forward to playing in front of fans for only the third time since February 2020.
“It’s going to be a special occasion – back at the Amex and hopefully in front of a big crowd of Brighton fans,” said Whelan.
“One of the big things about the women’s game is the relationship we have with our fans. We’ve really missed them the last 18 months – it’s been very strange playing in empty grounds.
“Although we haven’t played at the Amex for a while we are used to the surroundings. It’s where we are based during the week when we train at Falmer so it will be quite familiar.”
Whelan is proud of her ever-present record but says it’s getting harder to nail down a place in the team every week.
“Standards have gone up every season since we got into the WSL, not only in our squad but throughout the league so as players you have to raise your game continually,” she added.
“We’ve brought in some good players in Dan Carter and Rinsola [Babajide] and we’ve got [Guemmin] Lee with us permanently now, and at the end of last season she was outstanding for us. So, I think we’ve got a stronger squad but there’s also a great mentality and togetherness. We drive each other on every day.”
Tickets for Sunday’s game cost just £5 for adults and £2.50 for under-18s while a family ticket is £10. To buy yours click here.