**Brighton**boss **Fabian Hurzeler**talked about the performances of his central defenders.
**Jan Paul van Hecke**played his 100th game for the Seagulls in a 2-1 defeat of Newcastle United last weekend. He is the only outfield player, along with Lewis Dunk,, who has played every Premier League minute this season, and the head coach is committed to seeing this partnership flourish.
“I learned a new phrase: discretionary effort. Discretionary effort was explained to me, where if you go over and above the things someone expects, and I think JP is a prime example for that.
“He is going over the expectations I have of him on the pitch. He always gives 120%. Beside the pitch he’s a great personality and you can see it in his development. When you see his past, where he has come from, what he went through to where he is now, you see a really consistent development.
“That's because of his, his attitude. That's because of his mindset. His effort is always above the things you can expect as a coach. That makes his values so important to us.
“He's a Dutch guy, so I already like his, he’s very straight with you and honest with his opinion. I think that's always powerful in the team. He's in the leadership group. He has taken more responsibility and more ownership this season.
“I think that's the next step for him, to not only be a great performer, but also try to be a leader in this club. We are all pleased to work with him and hopefully he can continue like this.
“Of course, great players with great personalities are always welcomed at this club, a prime example is Lewis. Players who are here for a long time who have built a legacy. I am sure Jan Paul van Hecke can be one of them.
“But the main thing is really that we try to make sure that he can perform like he performed the last games for us, that the focus is here, the present. Don't try to focus on the future. Try to focus on the things he can influence now and his performances, his development regarding his role as a leader.
*“I'm always pleased when I can work with great players, great people, and hopefully he has a long and bright future here in Brighton.*
“I'm really big on building these connections because they’re building a connection on the pitch, but also building a connection off the pitch. When you have this trust in each other, when you have this relationship with each other, you make this extra metre for your teammate, you make this extra mile, you go into this extra personal duel because you want to sacrifice things for each other.
“You want to suffer for each other, be there for your teammate, you want to cover his back.
“That's so powerful to build connections and relationships because it really means something for them being together on the pitch. That's something that we try to continue building on and off the pitch, not only for the centre backs. I think it's very important for the whole team.”