Brighton and Hove Albion head coach Fabian Hurzeler addresses the media ahead of Brighton's Premier League clash with Wolves at the Amex Stadium this Saturday
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00:00Morning Fabian, an eventful end to Sunday's match. We didn't hear from you afterwards,
00:05but you're still unbeaten. What were your reflections on that match against Forest?
00:11Yeah, a little bit similar to the match one week before against Ipswich. I think
00:17we did enough to win this game. In the end, if you don't make the third goal,
00:22then you have to defend better and you can't concede these easy goals and then we have to
00:29improve. But it's always in life a thing of the perspective, how you want to see it.
00:35So on one side you can say we didn't win two games in a row where we should normally deserve
00:42to win. Or you say you're still unbeaten. So I'm more the direction to the positive one.
00:49I see always that the bottle is half full and not half empty and that's why we keep
00:55staying positive and seeing the positive things in the situation.
00:58So no first defeat yet, but you have had a first in English football in the red card.
01:03Can you clear up what it was for and have you spoken to
01:07anyone in the refs' organisation, the PGMOL, about it?
01:11So, in the beginning I didn't know for what I get the red card. Then I talked to Howard Webb,
01:21because in the end I heard that I get this red card for stepping on the pitch.
01:26And I think if you give a red card for this I think you have to ban a lot of coaches during
01:33the games because it happens in an emotional phase or emotional situation of the game.
01:40It will happen that you make a step on the pitch. Of course we are all role models and
01:46we have to act like this, but I think sometimes you also should bring out your emotions.
01:53In this case it was just to protect my player. In this case it was to protect Joao Pedro because
01:59for me it was a hard tackle on him and if I don't show emotions there,
02:05me as a player would say the coach isn't interested in me.
02:08So that's why I try to show emotions in some part of the games.
02:13Can you tell us what Howard Webb said to you?
02:15I think the positive thing is that they are very open. Howard Webb is also very open. He listens
02:24to me and he gives me a clear explanation of the situation, how the referee saw the scene,
02:31how the officials saw the scene. I think it's very important to have a good discussion and
02:38a clear discussion how I see the things, how they see the things, because in the end
02:43we should have a good relationship.
02:45Of course sometimes I don't agree with what the referee gives a foul or not,
02:58but in the end he also won't agree with what I'm doing on the sidelines. But for me it's
03:03very important that we have a respectful relationship and the exchange with Howard
03:08was very respectful and very empathic and very listening. In the end I hope that we
03:15will find the right solutions.
03:18You have the FA charge until tomorrow, do you contest that? Do you accept it?
03:29So I know what the fine will be and I also know that I will be on the sideline against
03:36Chelsea and I think that's the most positive thing that I can support my team, that I can
03:41help my team. Of course I also have to learn out of this situation how fast you can get a red card
03:48in this league and it's a learning process for me as well. But of course the fine we will accept.
03:57So from the outcome of that whole situation,
03:59João Pedro looked in a bit of discomfort after that tackle. How is he?
04:04Yeah, for me this tackle, of course you can see it on TV or on television but you have to see it
04:11on the pitch how hard it was, which dynamic it was. I think the TV can't give you the right
04:21dynamic of what happens in real life. It was a hard tackle for me and of course
04:28João had some problems after the game, he still has some problems. You have to
04:33go week for week with him but I don't think that he will be an option for the weekend.
04:40OK and maybe further than that potentially?
04:44Yeah, we have to keep looking. I'm not sure how long he will be out. I think
04:51that João is a good healer and I'm convinced that he will be back soon. But of course
04:57also with this player we can't take any risk. We all know that he's a player who can make
05:03the difference for us. But of course we also have several other options and several other
05:09good options and now we try to replace him as good as we can and give him a good rehab
05:16and I'm sure he won't be out for so long, hopefully.
05:20Any other team news in terms of injuries? Anyone new, anyone coming back?
05:24No, I don't think so. Of course Yassine Nairi after his illness he will be back on the pitch
05:32but the others, no.
05:36I asked about Soli March a few weeks ago, you can still see all the videos of him training
05:40and Brian Crudoe back in training as well it seems. Is there a plan for them, penciled in
05:45maybe for an under-21s match or something? Or do you take it week by week?
05:50With Brian he was out for five, six weeks. I think he will be back in the squad very
05:59soon. Maybe already at the weekend we will see how fast he gets reintegrated in the team,
06:07how fast he adapts to the intensity of the training. Then he might be an option for Saturday
06:14and with Soli it's unbelievable how good he is adapting. We are all surprised in which shape
06:21he is. He looks very sharp and there we have to make the next decision. What is the next step for
06:28him? Is it maybe playing an under-21 game? But there it's also important which under-21 game
06:34he's playing and what is the best for him and also where he feels comfortable because
06:40he has to feel comfortable after this long injury that he will make the next right step.
06:46It's important to make it step by step and not to do two or three steps in one time.
06:53I'm very happy with how he's doing and I think he also feels very happy. He has a lot of energy
06:58and you also see it in the training which impact he can have on the team.
07:03The draw last night for the Carabao Cup Liverpool. It looks like he'll probably
07:07play them twice in four days because I think they're playing on a Sunday before.
07:12At least he's at home but it's a tricky draw. How do you assess that?
07:18I had a similar situation last season with my former club where we played in Dusseldorf and
07:25then three days later in a cup game against Dusseldorf. It's always interesting how you
07:32prepare the first match and how it went in the first match. If you do some changes, if not,
07:38if you change a player, if you change a tactic, it's a bit like a tactical thing but also how
07:44fit are the players in these cases. It will be very interesting not only to play two games in
07:52a row against Liverpool, just to play against Liverpool. I think it will be an interesting
07:56thing. They had a great start in the season, they have a great new coach but I think now we
08:03have to focus on Chelsea because it's a very big challenge. I think for me it's one of the
08:09best teams in the league so far and we're really looking forward to it.
08:17Jack Kinchelwood had ice on his ankle after the game, was that precautionary?
08:22It was a fast regeneration after the game. Fast treatment for his ankle and now he will be fine.
08:31You've mentioned Chelsea there, I spoke to the Bournemouth manager a couple of
08:35games ago and he said they're one of the toughest teams to analyse and prepare for
08:41because they've got so many good players and so many different ways of using them.
08:45Obviously we've had a couple of games since then, are they getting easier to prepare for
08:50or are they still a tough challenge to just get your head around what they could do?
08:55So on the one side of course you have to analyse them by what they're doing tactical
09:02on the pitch and they have very good solutions. They have a great goalkeeper who starts
09:09trying to build up the game from there back, always with his feet. He's a very good
09:15football player and then of course they have a good positioning in possession.
09:20So normally open with a free two but still very fluent. I think Enso is also dropping in the
09:26midfield. Then on the other side, besides these tactical things, they have great individual
09:31players. So you have to keep focusing on where you can create a good match. So don't create a
09:38mismatch. Try to bring players in personal duels where you think that would be a good match. So
09:45for example against the wingers, who do you bring as a full-back against Sancho,
09:50against Moreike? They're both very fast, both very good dribblers. Who do you bring against
09:56Jackson, who's a fast striker, who's also good in possession?
10:00So on the one side of course the tactical thing, on the other side
10:03trying to find good matches with your players to their players. Then of course I think besides
10:13how you want to press them, it's also very important to find a good solution in possession
10:17for our own. So how is the match plan with the ball? Because you can't go there and try
10:22to only defend. You have to go there and have a lot of courage with the ball and
10:26try to build up with a clear idea and with a good positioning because then
10:31they also have to defend and this will be the thing that we will try to do.
10:38You go up against excellent strikers every week in the Premier League but Nicholas Jackson is in
10:43extraordinary form. Is there anything that he does that is unique to him that's
10:49going to pose a different challenge to normally?
10:53So I think he is a full package. So he wants to combine. So sometimes he's getting more in the
11:02ten space where he can combine with his teammates, where he's there with Palma, with Caicedo,
11:08with Enzo Fernandes. And on the other side he's also very fast so he can attack the back from us
11:15and this mix, this balance makes him very dangerous for us. And of course he's a top
11:22striker and at the moment he's in very good shape so you can't defend him in a one against one.
11:27So you have to always try to on one side get pressure on the ball so that they can't play
11:32the long ball in the back from us. And on the other side you always need to find a good balance
11:40how close you want to defend them and how you want to defend the back of our back four.
11:47And for Brighton on Sunday Karim Atoma had a spell where he was such a threat down that left-hand
11:54side and with his injuries I personally hadn't seen him in that sort of form for a long time.
12:00I wondered how impressed you've been and if there was a moment
12:04in the last couple of weeks where you thought oh I'm going to enjoy working with this player?
12:10I enjoyed working with him from the first day because he's a great guy, very humble,
12:17trying to do everything to improve. And I think after his injury he needed a little bit of time
12:24to come back to find his old shape but we didn't put a lot of pressure on him. I think he knows
12:32the best what to do to get back in his shape and he's doing it better game for game. Of course
12:38in the end we want that he scores and makes assists. I think he had some great chances in
12:44the last games but he was a bit unlucky but he's keeping trying. He's always there on the second
12:51post, he tries to have the easy tap-in but he also tries to go one against one and make a shot
12:57on the goal so he's very flexible. He's improving with his crosses so I think it's still in the
13:03process, in the development where he is. I'm very happy how he's in which situation,
13:08which shape he is at the moment but we still try to improve in every phase of the game.
13:14To my very amateurish untrained eye, his first touch looked amazing, immaculate. When you're
13:21working with 25 guys a day who've all got an excellent first touch, does it still stand out?
13:26Is it special?
13:29I think in some ways his first touch is special but of course it's also a thing why I'm convinced
13:36you can train. How you pass, how you take the first touch and if you do a lot of
13:41these exercises in training I think you can improve. But of course
13:46Thomas has an outstanding first touch, he's an outstanding player, he's a player who can
13:51make the difference but again also for these players there are still things where we can
13:56improve and the thing is that he wants to improve. He doesn't say I'm finished with my development,
14:01he's still searching for potentials and that's what is really impressive with him.
14:10Fabian, you put Jack Hinshaw into the midfield at the weekend. His performance and what you
14:16see in training, does that make you think maybe twice about where you might use him
14:19going forward as well as at full-back?
14:23It's tough because he can play several positions and several positions really good so I think
14:29against Nottingham he made an outstanding performance in the midfield. He understands
14:35the game, he's very clever in recognising the spaces, how I need to open the passing
14:42lines, how I need to move in which space to find the free team-mate and it only works if
14:48you really understand the game and he does it in an outstanding way. On the other side,
14:54he also performs quite good as a full-back so it's tough for me to bring him in the best position
15:01because I think he has several best positions and in the end I think we have to make a decision
15:08where he helps the team the most, in which situation of the game we are and how the
15:13opponents are. I talked about the matches with the opponents, therefore we need to find
15:21the best position for him against Chelsea.
15:26How important is it to have someone like Evan starting to look a little bit sharper on the
15:30pitch, getting more minutes as well as another option? I know you've got Jorginho as well but
15:35how important is it to have that option more available to you going forward for the next few
15:39weeks?
15:40Very important because Evan is a player who is a clear target player in the box so he knows how
15:50to move in the box, he has a good nose for some situations, he's there when he needs an easy
15:57tap-in, he's there when he needs to make a header so he looks very good also in training. Of course
16:04against Nottingham we were thinking about bringing him a little bit earlier to the game
16:11because we know his strength but in the end the most important thing is that he's fit,
16:18that he's training every day, that he doesn't feel his injury anymore and that he's getting
16:23back to his best shape and therefore we need to help him and we need to give him also game time
16:29for sure but I'm really keen on working with him because I think he can have a great impact on our
16:36team. With regards to Chelsea, when you've spoken about them today you've used the word pace and
16:42speed and fast quite a lot today. How do you counteract that because you play quite a high
16:47defensive line? Is it about pressure when they have the ball further up the pitch,
16:51is that going to be the key to success on Saturday?
16:53Yes, so avoid that they have time on the ball and can play a long ball in behind.
17:02So I think that's very important and then if you get pressure I think then you can defend
17:08with this high line because it's all about compactness. On the other side I think there
17:13will be also moments in the game where we have to defend in a low block so a low block means that
17:19you don't give them the space behind our back four so we have to stay very low and stay compact.
17:27In the end it's all about compactness so when you go high, high pressure you need to have a
17:31high line otherwise you're not compact. If you go low it's the same with the striker,
17:35the striker has to come back so that you're compact otherwise it won't work and the goal
17:43we conceded against Nottingham was not the mistake from the back four, it was not the
17:49thing that we stand this high, it was more that we don't get pressure and that we open the middle.
17:55That's a thing you can't do if you want to play with the high line and we have to learn out of it.
18:02We have a new coach here at Brighton, they have a new coach in Enzo Maresca,
18:06what do you know about him and have you come across him before? What have you made of what
18:10he's done in a very short space of time at a club that's gone through a lot of transition recently?
18:17I don't know him personally but I think he had a great start and he plays a very good
18:25style of football. Of course he also has great players but in the end he brings them in the
18:31right positions and they're very fluent and they have a lot of self-confidence.
18:36It's the only thing I can say from the distance that what I see in the games is
18:45quite impressive and it will be a big challenge for us to compete against them on Saturday.