CHERRIES star Wade Elliott is desperate to prove to Sean O'Driscoll that he is the man to provide the ammunition for a concerted push for the play-offs.

O'Driscoll's men travel to another of the promotion hopefuls, Brighton and Hove Albion, just three points behind the Seagulls and a mere four points outside the Division Two play-off zone (3pm kick-off).

Elliott, who started his first game since December in last Saturday's win over Notts County, has had to be content with a place on the bench in recent weeks.

But the skilful wide man realises it is up to him to prove his worth when he gets the chance.

He told the Daily Echo: "It is down to me to prove to the manager that I bring something to the team he cannot do without. But all the players are trying to do that all the time.

"It has been a bit 'horses for courses' recently and we have adapted our game for certain teams. But now we are starting to hit a little bit of form and are starting to impose our own game onto other teams.

"Your confidence can be a bit knocked sometimes if you don't fully understand the reasons behind being dropped. You can start to question your own game.

"But Sean has always got time to explain his decisions and I have been around long enough now to have faith in my ability.

"But it was like last weekend when I came back in against Notts County. It wasn't that anybody had had a bad game at Plymouth, it was just that Sean (O'Dris-coll) felt my attributes were better suited to that game.

"Obviously I don't like missing games but that is the manager's prerogative. I just try to keep my head down, keep working hard and when my chance does come along, hopefully I can stake my claim.

"I have enough belief in my own ability to know that when I am on my game, I can bring something a little bit different to the team."

Brighton are without a win in three games - a run which started after beating Ply-mouth who were top of the table at the time - but Elliott is well aware of their qualities and pointed to the added spice of a south coast derby.

He said: "Brighton is a bit of a derby game for us. Every time we play them, they are very organised, strong and are usually among the top teams in the division. The Withdean is a tricky place to go and play but we know what to expect.

"It is a strange stadium but it is just another ground to us and you get on with it. We know it is a tough place to go and that they are a good side but we are going into it on the back of a bit of form."

The 25-year-old midfielder also insisted that this is an important fixture in the battle for the play-off places.

He said: "I think everybody is looking at trying to get into the play-offs - if we weren't we would just be playing in meaningless games. Half the division are in with a shout and someone tends to come from the pack every season so we have our eye on it. If we are to do anything this season, this is the kind of game we need to grind something out of."