I say 'party' atmosphere because Swansea were the opponents and they came to celebrate as League One champions. The post-match presentation, along with the bubbly, was all arranged. The away stand was full of the Welsh invaders which was a rare occurrence. I think Leeds United last filled it way back in October.

Swansea undisputedly are the best side in the league. They ended with 92 points. Leeds would have been behind them even with the return of 15 points (which thankfully didn't happen).

Another unusual feature for a Saturday afternoon at Withdean was the sunshine! Missing was the wind, rain, and wet plastic seats. Neither side had anything, except pride, to play for – and it showed. It was like a pre-season friendly.

For the record Swansea won 1-0 but there could, and should, have been more goals. We missed our chances and Michel Kuipers amazingly (or luckily?) kept out most of theirs. With 15 minutes to go the game was drifting to a goalless draw. To be fair, when City attacked they looked threatening. Our chances were mainly from long crosses and speculative shots.

The side from Wales had two extremely fast and clever wide men who too often beat our full-backs. At the end it was sub Shaun MacDonald, thrown on by the Swans manager Roberto Martinez, who went past wrong-footed Matt Richards, cut in to the by-line and provided an inviting pull-back for fellow sub Febian Brandy to tap in.

The goal caused much singing from the Welsh contingent but spoiled the sunny afternoon for the rest of us. The gate was around 7,300, only bettered by Leeds (capacity - just under 9,000) and Port Vale! Here's a nasty fact – get a big crowd of over 7,000 and we lose!

Manager Dean Wilkins said after the game that he found it difficult to watch another team celebrating on our pitch – me too. He hoped it would help our lads aspire to this next season. All the Albion team did a lap of honour to thank the fans for their support over the season. As we drifted away the Swansea celebrations continued.

We wish Swansea well in the Championship where we hope to join them (and Crystal Palace?) soon. We were shown our place, seventh. But as I said last week, given we finished 17th previously, if offered seventh at the start of the season we would have taken it. It has been a year of consolidation and progress.

Young Tommy Elphick as predicted won our Player of the Year award, and rightly so. He's Brighton through and through and was delighted to have been chosen by the fans. Second was captain and top goal scorer Nicky Forster, followed by our popular keeper Dutchman Michel Kuipers. These three will truly be the spine of our team next year. But when is our creative midfielder coming?

Off the pitch Brighton are no longer SKINT! We will have a new front of shirt sponsor for next season. Fat Boy Slim, AKA Norman Cook, came into the breech NINE years ago. In 1999 his Skint Records became the Seagulls' main sponsor. Over these years the "SKINT" shirts (there have been 12 apparently!) have been worn with pride. My "Palookaville" special is a favourite. Norman has been more than a sponsor of course, he is a huge fan (and benefactor). He and the Skint team were on the pitch at half-time to receive recognition and huge applause. We wait to hear who will replace SKINT on our shirts. (That's the Christmas present sorted).

We now look forward. There's Falmer on the horizon. Tender documents are going out now and should be back in July. PricewaterhouseCoopers are working the banks with a view to selecting a 'preferred funder' (this presumes no local or Russian billionaire emerges?). Martin Perry says we are on track for a start on site in November.

The players have a month off (whilst hopefully Wilkins and Dick Knight work on the players and money) and then it's back to business at the end of June with preseason in July. We won't be without our football for long!