Chris Hughton has told his Albion side to forget about a promotion push – for the next five weeks.

He wants his side mentally fresh for a return to training at the end of June.

That means taking a complete break from the game and making sure they do not mull over recent disappointments.

The Seagulls boss is confident his squad will come striding back to work raring to go, despite their deflating promotion near-miss.

He told The Argus: “We have gone on nine days longer than other teams. What the players have to do is take a complete break and not really do anything for a few weeks.

“Of course they all have their programmes for the fitness side of it but they have to have a complete mental break and get away from it all.

“What you find is always the case is that players have big disappointments and they get used to it.

“They have highs and lows on a weekly and monthly basis, winning and losing games.

“By the time they come back to pre-season, they are ready to come back and looking forward to coming back.”

Beram Kayal and Tomer Hemed, who picked up an injury at the end of the season, are not part of the latest Israel squad.

New boss Elisha Levy has sprung several surprises in his selection to face Serbia next Tuesday.