Fabian Hurzeler joked he would have a word with Jack Hinshelwood to find out exactly what the Brighton youngster meant, when he described his role as ‘unique’.
Hinshelwood marked the opening day of the season in style, scoring twice in two minutes, as Brighton stormed to a 4-0 victory over Aston Villa at the Amex.
Speaking after the match, the 21-year-old had described his role as ‘unique’ and admitted he can sometimes become frustrated when he does not get much of the ball.
Hurzeler was amused by the assessment.
Jack Hinshelwood marked the opening day of the season in style, scoring twice in two minutes, as Brighton stormed to a 4-0 victory over Aston Villa at the Amex. (Photo by Alex Pantling/Getty Images)placeholder image
Jack Hinshelwood marked the opening day of the season in style, scoring twice in two minutes, as Brighton stormed to a 4-0 victory over Aston Villa at the Amex. (Photo by Alex Pantling/Getty Images)
“I need to speak to him if he says it's unique, what he means by that,” the Brighton head coach said.
But Hurzeler went on to explain why he believes Hinshelwood's interpretation of the role is indeed unusual – particularly his ability to make an impact without constantly demanding possession.
“But overall I think in his style, how he interprets the role, that's just unique, because he's not that guy who needs that many ball touches to create the danger in an opponent's box,” he said.
“And that's something that is special and that's something that really helps us, because if you always rely on ball touches to feel well, then every player comes towards the ball, towards the ball.
“But if you don't create this dynamic to get in the box, if you don't create the numbers in the box of the opponent, then you can't score goals.”
Hinshelwood's movement into the box proved decisive against Villa.
He arrived at the far post to score Brighton's third after Diego Gomez's knock-on, before reacting quickest to a loose ball following the restart to grab his second just a minute later.
Hurzeler also praised the youngster's work without the ball and believes he has taken another step forward during pre-season.
“And that's why he's always there, he's very intense against the ball, he made another step during pre-season, therefore I'm quite happy with him and hopefully he can continue like this,” he said.