Brighton and Hove Albion boss Fabian Hurzeler on the injury latest and the importance of their clash with rivals Crystal Palace
AMEX training ground, Lancing, UK
AMEX training ground, Lancing, UK
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00:00Fabian, after a busy period it must have been quite nice to have a full week's preparation
00:05for this one?
00:06Yeah, it's always nice to have more training sessions, to work with the team, try to reflect
00:14the last games, try to improve, try to integrate some principles. So hopefully we use it the
00:22right way this week.
00:24In regards to those principles, is that around the game management you were speaking about
00:28after the game against Leicester a little bit?
00:32Yeah I think one big part is the game management, how to manage the games, not only particularly
00:39it's against Leicester but also against Fulham. So it happens several times so it's of course
00:49a part of it, it's also a part of what culture you integrate in the club. We talked a lot
00:53about the winning culture, how we can live this, how we can fulfil this winning culture.
01:01But on top of that it's not only about game management, it's also how you improve the
01:07game to play consistently 90 minutes, a good game. How you work on details because the
01:14goals happen for a reason and we have to analyse the reasons, we have to find the right solutions,
01:21we have to find the right conclusions out of it and there we need not only training
01:25on the pitch, we need also discussions, opinions from the players, different things that integrate
01:32in the solutions and it's a lot of work but work pays off.
01:37Is it something you've been analysing yourself as well, what role you can play in trying
01:42to ensure that these games going into the latter stages of games that you're taking
01:48the maximum points you possibly can?
01:51Always the first thing. Reflect myself, reflect my decision, my behaviour. I think you can't
01:57be critical of other people if you're not the most self-critical person in the building
02:02and that's what I always try to do. It always starts with me and that's why I always reflect
02:09myself, that's the first thing I do.
02:11You've got an opportunity to change the narrative, to certainly change what the results have
02:17been in the last three games in a big way with a game against Brighton's rivals so to
02:23speak, this unique rivalry between the two clubs. How much do you know about it, how
02:27much have people around the club helped you understand that rivalry?
02:33Luckily I visited I think last season the game between Crystal Palace and Brighton in
02:43Palace so I saw the game live and I experienced on my own how the rivalry is, how the mood
02:51is between the two clubs and I experienced also some big derbies in my former time so
02:58I think I know what it means for the fans, I know what it means for the club. It's a
03:05game in the end it's only about three points but on top of that it's about the meaning
03:15of the game and I think I know also from the past that the meaning especially for the fans
03:21is high and also for the club is very high and that's why we need to give everything
03:26on the pitch to win this derby.
03:29Is the messaging different in the build-up to these games from your experience?
03:37No. I think everyone in the building knows the meaning so I don't have to artificially
03:44emphasise it and that's not my way of working. My way of working is to prepare the team the
03:52best we can do like every other game and of course I think the players, we have a lot
03:59of experienced players in the squad, they know how important this game is for the club,
04:03how important it is for the fans and that's the main thing. We have to give back to the
04:09fans the three points we might have wasted in the last games and I think that's the most
04:15important.
04:16You mentioned your past, was it a hamburger derby? For fans who maybe don't know too much
04:23about it, what was it like to be a part of it? Is it something you enjoy and thrive in?
04:29If you win it's always a big enjoy. It's something special because you feel the atmosphere before
04:39the game, you feel the atmosphere during the game, you feel there's a big rivalry and in
04:45the end I like it because every time when there are emotions it's a big thing for me
04:51and I think emotions are part of the game.
04:54But what I always say is that everything should happen with respect to each other and we don't
05:02need any violence or something like this so that's always the main thing for me. It's
05:07in the end a football game, a football game with more emotion than a normal football game
05:12and you can cheer for your team, you can support your team but in the end it should
05:17go everything without any violence.
05:22This week the club announced a new signing coming in January, Diego Gomez. What do you
05:28expect him to bring to the side and is he someone you expect to put into your first
05:33team squad immediately?
05:37He will. What he has is something special. He has the right attitude towards football,
05:47he loves to play it. You can feel his passion, you can feel his passion in every talk with
05:50him, you can see his passion in his eyes. Also when you see him playing for Paraguay,
05:56when you see him playing for Inter Miami you see that he's ready to sprint, ready to make
06:02the last step, ready to give everything for his club. That's something we need here, having
06:08players inside with passion for football, with the right attitude, working on themselves
06:14to improve, use every day to get better. That's something he has inside of him and that's
06:20something special for such a young player.
06:23Any news ahead of the game on Sunday, any players potentially returning?
06:29I have to think.
06:34Last week I think Joel Veltman was close but didn't make it.
06:37That's exactly the question I waited for. Joel is 50-50, we have to wait the next two
06:44days.
06:45And Jack, is he close now?
06:4740-60.
06:4830?
06:4920-80.
06:50James Milner?
06:5110-90. It's good, it's good. It's true what I'm saying. Exactly in this, like you go through
07:01the players, exactly also the percentage of them playing.
07:04I appreciate it Fabian.
07:07Soli March?
07:10Closer, closer, closer. He can be a possible option but also there we need to, also I said
07:19it the last time, we need to be really patient with him. Now he had a full training week
07:24or the first full training week with the team and he's doing well, he's progressing really
07:29good. He's pushing to be an option for the squad and now it's about talking with the
07:36medicals, talking with the physios, what is the right thing and when is the moment
07:40to really integrate him also in a matchday.
07:44Because in the end he needs to be prepared for the Premier League and after being injured
07:49for such a long time we really have to be careful and we have to take care of his health.
07:54Although I know he's really pushing to be part of the team.
07:58Just a bit more on the game management you've been mentioning. Obviously you leave Carlos
08:01Bolivar on at Bournemouth, he gets sent off, you take him off at half-time at Leicester
08:04because he's on a yellow. Are the players fully on board with that game management and
08:08understand that it's maybe not performance-related they're coming off, it's just the way you're
08:12managing them?
08:15They are fully integrated and fully understand it. We always give them a reflection and honest
08:25answer about the performance when they have any questions. I think that's the main thing
08:31we can do so they know exactly our thoughts and why.
08:35You spent a lot of time watching Oliver Glasner when you were in Germany. How influential
08:39has he been to how you are as a manager now?
08:44Especially when I was at Sao Paolo we played a similar system. We both played with a five
08:51in the back and I think he had great success with his former club in Frankfurt. Winning
09:00a trophy with this club is a big thing, especially in Germany. His style of play was outstanding,
09:07he's always very compact, he's always very good in transition. He has a good style of
09:13play in possession and that's what he also showed in Palace, especially when he arrived
09:20I think he immediately had an impact in the club, in the Premier League and that shows
09:25his quality.
09:27You mentioned you were at Selhurst Park last season watching Crystal Palace in the Crystal
09:31Palace end and now you're the manager of Brighton. Has he got in touch with you at all since
09:34you've taken this job?
09:37Yes, we were in touch. We had some calls because we also know each other a little bit. He's
09:48very, very helpful, very open-minded. He's a great coach for me. He achieved a lot of
09:52things. He already made a big career and he continues doing this career. He's a role
10:00model and I like how he acts, how humble and grounded he is. I think he has a lot of great
10:06attitudes to be a great manager.
10:09In terms of Crystal Palace, just above the relegation zone at the moment but unbeaten
10:12in their last four, what can you take from that as you prepare for them? Does it really
10:16mean much, their league position to you?
10:21No, because if you see the games, it's always very, very close. In the end there are small
10:29margins that make the difference. It's a compact team with individual quality, very good in
10:36defending, very good in transition. There we have to be aware of not giving the ball
10:40too easily away. I think the place where they are at the moment doesn't represent their
10:48real quality and their real ability, what they are able to do. That's why we have to
10:53be aware of that. Like I said, every game is competitive, every game is a challenge
10:59for us and we try to prepare for that as best as we can.
11:03Just finally from me, Jan-Paul van Geckel will make his 50th Premier League appearance
11:06if he's involved for you this weekend. How important has he become in terms of what you
11:11want to achieve here?
11:14I think he's one of the players that are most underestimated in the league, maybe not at
11:21the moment. He's not only a player who wants to really develop himself every day, he's
11:29also a player who has this winning mentality inside of him. He wants to really win every
11:34training session, he wants to improve himself but also his teammates. He's very demanding
11:40with his teammates and that's something that shows his personality. He's ready to grow,
11:44he's ready to make the next step, he's ready to be a leader also and I think that might
11:52be the next step for him to get a higher value in the team. I think he's on the right way
12:01and on top of that he's a leader by his performances. He's always there, he's always ready to perform
12:08and he's shown very great performances for us.
12:13Fabian, Diego Gomez comes from the MLS, he's coming in the middle of the season. How challenging
12:19is it going to be for him moving into the Premier League and adjusting?
12:26I think we have some examples already in summer, how challenging it is to come from a different
12:34league to the Premier League, to adapt. It takes time, sometimes it goes a bit faster,
12:39sometimes it goes a bit slower with the players but one is truly sure that it will be a big
12:49challenge for him. But it's up to us and also up to the club and to the team to fully educate
12:54him as quickly as possible.
12:57What I experienced so far is that we will get a player and also a person who is very
13:01open-minded, who is lovely, who wants to play football and that's something that will help
13:09him and this club always has the right environment to integrate the players as quickly as possible
13:15and that's what we try to do. To give him this environment, to help him the best we
13:21can, to give him the support not only from the staff but also from the team-mates and
13:27I'm sure that this will go quick.
13:29Another player who came in the summer who had a great start but then got injured is
13:33Jankuba Minte. You've eased him back in very, very slowly but is he getting there or is
13:39he on the score sheets to where he was at the beginning of the season?
13:44I'm sure he will get there. It's not easy for a young player to have this injury in
13:54this time period and then we had some international breaks where the rhythm of things got interrupted
14:03but he's on the training pitch every day, he's fully motivated, he had a great impact
14:09when he got in against Leicester so I think he's on the right way and I'm sure that he
14:15will get back to his best shape.
14:17What's your message to the Albion fans and what role can they play, particularly with
14:29it being at the Amex?
14:32The role they always play for us in home games, they're always our 12th man. I love the support
14:39from them, I love their feeling for the team so they know when the team suffers a little
14:45bit then they're there with their support, they cheer to us and that's something that's
14:51incredible.
14:52Not only at home, also when we are away their support is for us crucial and the support
14:58for us is very helpful also on the pitch and I think it's very important that they
15:03know it.
15:04The second thing is now it's up to us to give them the win, to give them something back
15:11for their support, for their travel, for the time they invest every day or every weekend
15:16for us and that's something we have to appreciate and now it's up to us to give them the victory
15:24in the derby.
15:26What do you make of the Crystal Palace players as a team and their threats?
15:35Very compact, very athletic, especially in the last line. They have all fast players
15:45in the back fast line and then they have two sixes who have good balance between being
15:51aggressive, out of possession, being good in possession and of course the offensive
15:56players especially Issa are very fast, very good in transition. Tall striker, target player
16:03so they can play long balls, they can be also very good in possession to play out back on
16:11the ground so they have different variations but in general it's a team, very compact,
16:18very good in transition and of course also individual quality.