How do you bounce back from a 7-0 defeat?
Well, back-to-back victories against Chelsea and a thunderous 4-0 win over Southampton is a good way to anesthetize the ulcers of admitted seven in Nottingham Forest.
Brighton's Thrashing On the city, the seagulls handed their biggest defeat for almost 70 years and a loss of club record in the top flight. But it also turned out to be the end of a gloomy 11 game run in which the seagulls only take two victories during the festive period.
“Sometimes you just have to forget it and throw it away,” said Joel Veltman, who started the game in Forest, but missed the victory of Saturday at Saints with a foot injury, Sky Sports said.
“The message from Fabian Hurzeler was to just forget it in the past. Of course you will teach you and takes that losing feeling to prepare for the next game. That is why our motivation was ski on Chelsea twice. “
The messages from the head coach have paid off with Brighton, suddenly, who looked ready to take on a challenge in the teams above them.
At the end of November, Hurzeler left his side fourth in the Premier League, but she saw a difficult two-month enchantment fall in the mid table.
During that time, people like Bournemouth, Nottingham Forest and Fulham were praised and belong to the parties who are said to compete for the European places, but there was a feeling at Brighton fans that Hurzeler's first season was in charge, a disappointment wax.
However, Brighton is four points in fourth place and can go in fifth place of Bournemouth on points with Bournemouth when they organize the Cherries on Tuesday evening. However, in contrast to their opponents, Brighton flew under the radar for their efforts this season.
The highest finish of Brighton in a Premier League campaign was the sixth place in 2023 and that earned them a place in the Europa League of the following year for the first time in the club's history.
While in the past their current position of ninth place may be sufficient for a club that ended 20th in the championship 10 years ago, fans want more. For Veltman, the growing expectation is a reflection of how far the club has developed in the Premier League.
“It's a bit crazy how football goes,” said Veltman, who looks like missing the Bournemouth match in the midst of reports that he could be out with injury for a few weeks.
“We finished sixth with Roberto de Zerbi, ninth with Graham Potter. Now we are in a place where you are in the top 10 and then before the season they already say that we want European football us seven years ago we would fight for European places, you would probably say no!
“But that is where we are now and that is where we want to go every year. I love the expectations to get us at least in the top seven, top six European football places because the players want that too.
“We know where we are capable of, that is what the Gaffer tells us. We have to fight the top six, we have the potential. There is that feeling that we can do much better than we show now.
“We had a few games where we were not ourselves and yet we are very close. Our potential is much higher than we are now. The trust is in the dressing room.”
Hurzeler is leading the late push from Brighton to Europe.
At his appointment, a lot was made of his age as the youngest manager who took permanent leadership of a Premier League club. Veltman is one of the five current Brighton players who are older than his 31-year-old manager, but his agreement only contributes to the excitement that the team feels about the future.
“For me he is not a 31-year-old. For me he is just a coach,” Veltman continued.
“He has that respect from us too. We are excited [to have him here]. He always tells us that we have to challenge the establishment.
“That is his way of thinking and that is what he brings us. In every training he continues to say the same things, such as Run, helping your teammates, doing a different half job. The excitement is because we know what we can do with him reaches. “
It is not only the management that Veltman excites, who sees potentially in the dressing room that would justify a higher finish. The aim of Kaoru Mitoma against Chelsea during their 3-0 win, the eye for its implementation.
Jamie Carragher from Sky Sports compared the touch of the 27-year-old and the finish of both Lionel Messi and Dennis Bergkamp. Lots of praise.
It took Mitoma for some time to settle in the season after his future was immersed in the uncertainty during the January window with a bid by Saudi club Al Nassr. In the past, Brighton has seen big names leave for elevated costs, but for the dressing room of the seagulls, the preservation of Mitoma was an intention signal.
“I think Mitoma Staying says a lot about the club,” Veltman told Sky Sports.
“We are doing well now in the Premier League. Maybe he didn't play his best way of playing for Chelsea, but he was still in the team.
“We know that he can create a chance, just scoring a chance or a goal. With that confidence, he scored that goal against Chelsea. For us it is really, very important that he has stayed.”
From the play team to the coach, ambition is very much the fashion word word at the Amex. The next 12 games from Brighton will decide whether they can actually make that ambition.
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