Mackail-Smith won his second cap for Scotland last week

Brighton striker Craig Mackail-Smith believes they can build on their start to life in the Championship.

The Seagulls have won both their opening games in the second tier after winning League One last season.

The 27-year-old told BBC Sussex: "We've had to dig deep but we've learnt a lot about what the league is like.

"Most of the teams we'll come up against will be big and strong. Hopefully we can start to implement our own football and play a bit more."

He added: "The Portsmouth match was a tough game, and will stand us in good stead for the next couple of weeks. They were bombarding us for quite a while but we held off and the back four did fantastically."

The Scotland international bagged his first goal for the Albion in the 1-0 win over Pompey, and Mackail-Smith was pleased to open his account.

"It's nice to score early-on in the season, but I wasn't thinking about the pressure," he said.

"The six-yard box is my area, so hopefully that will kick-start me now."

Brighton travel to Cardiff City on Wednesday.

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