**Brighton**finished in the top eight last campaign, but some people would argue that the squad still underachieved a little. Last season saw sacrificed leads aplenty, and there was one more to add to the list against **Fulham**at the Amex Stadium last weekend. How does Fabian Hurzeler address this?
‘The key thing is to keep the clean sheet’
The German gave his thoughts on a two-word topic that has been a weakness of the Seagulls since the start of his reign. Last season, only three outfits put up more than their tally of 13 draws, as the team dropped 22 points from winning positions and conceded eight goals in injury time of the second half.
“Game management, how to manage the first minutes, how to manage the last minutes is always a big part. They will be intense, they will be aggressive, they want to show their home fans something in their first appearance in the new stadium. So we have to be prepared for that. We need to be calm.”
Hurzeler himself highlighted that a second strike would have helped against Fulham. After **Matt O’Riley**opened the scoring, **Bernd Leno**nearly mishandled an effort from Diego Gomez over the line, while the midfielder might have assisted a goal for Brajan Gruda with a better pass. But he knows it is a thing the players would have picked up on and does not need to beat down their spirits.
“I'm not the biggest fan of these kind of things. I also had it after the game where you say, "You need to kill the game. Of course, we need to kill the game, we want to score goals. Every player wants to score a goal. Every player wants to make assists." So, I will never say to a player you must score.”
Ruthlessness goes both ways. Many times, people will wonder what could have happened if a team has the efficiency to put away their chances when they are ahead. However, it is possible to flip that question and query whether sides should start to lose their stability in the latter stages of a contest.
“How much they run, how many personal duels they win, how good they react when they lose the ball. These are all things they can do and must do. Scoring goals is important to win games but with the last game against Fulham if you keep the clean sheet nothing will happen and you win the game.”
For Hurzeler, the sticking point against the Cottagers was the lack of a clean sheet. Kenny Tete and Emile Smith Rowe nearly hit the back of the net before Rodrigo Muniz foiled the resistance in extra time. A deflection might have been unlucky, but it highlighted the importance of top concentration.
“We never want to be satisfied with 1-0 but the key thing is to keep the clean sheet. The key thing is to defend until the end, keep the focus high, don't be lazy, do your job, be awake when there's a restart, a throw in or corner. These are all things that you can influence and they are my main focus is on.”
‘I want that he takes more responsibility’
**Brighton**continue to back the youth as the centrepieces of their sporting project. Yasin Ayari, an agemate of Carlos Baleba, played in the midfield against **Fulham**and hit a high standard in the eyes of the manager. However, the 32-year-old wants that performance to put a marker from where he must kick on in what could be a breakthrough campaign.
*“I'm very happy how Yasin developed. We all saw it against Fulham, how mature he was playing.*
“He was there in in every moment. He was good in possession, out of possession. It was a benchmark performance from him. And now it's about being consistent to show these kind of performances.”
The 21-year-old is also someone who he wants to become more confident talking to other teammates. Games can run away from sides in the Premier League if midfielders do not keep things disciplined.
“The second thing is that I want that he takes more responsibility on the pitch that he grow also as a communicator. So it's important for me that players who are in the midfield they are communicative because they can control a lot of players. They can control the striker, the winger, they connect with the center back. They need to be a loudspeaker. They need to be a communicator in these areas.”
Georginio Rutter arrived from Leeds United in the summer last year, having been a club record signing for his former club. The Frenchman was frustrated to see an ankle injury cut short his minutes at the end of last season, but he has become a big asset to the Seagulls in the eyes of the manager.
“He is as a person, positive, always smiling, always there to joke. He's someone who connects the different cultures, the different ages, different characters. And that's so important because then you don't have these groups in in the team. He's not only important for me on the pitch, also off the pitch.”
The 23-year-old has also helped Hurzeler to settle into the new season. Joao Pedro has hit the ground running at **Chelsea**off the striker or as the number nine this summer, and the £60 million man left a huge hole. A fit Danny Welbeck is a massive plus, but it is not enough of a solution in the final third.
Hurzeler holds the opinion that teenager Stefanos Tzimas needs a little more time to adapt to being in the first team, but for now, Rutter makes his life much easier, having seen the forward win O'Riley's penalty last weekend.
“With the loss of Joao, we missed one more striker. So, it's a little bit the balance thing with two strikers with Danny Welbeck and George. I'm very happy George can play in both positions. He can play as a striker, play as a 10, as an 8. So he's very flexible and that's something what helps us.”