How do you bounce back from a 7-0 defeat?
Well, back-to-back victories against Chelsea and a resounding 4-0 win over Southampton is a good way to begin numbing the sores of conceding seven at Nottingham Forest.
Brighton’s thrashing at the City Ground handed the Seagulls their biggest defeat for nearly 70 years and a club-record loss in the top flight. But it also proved to be the end of a dismal 11-game run where the Seagulls recorded just two wins over the festive period.
“Sometimes you just need to forget it and throw that game away,” Joel Veltman, who started the game at Forest but missed Saturday’s win over Saints with a foot injury, told Sky Sports.
“Fabian Hurzeler’s message to us was to just forget it in the past. Obviously, you learn from it and take that losing feeling with you to prepare for the next game. That’s why our motivation was sky-high to beat Chelsea twice.”
Fabian Hurzeler discusses Brighton’s European prospects
The messaging from the head coach has paid off with Brighton, all of a sudden, looking primed to mount a challenge on the teams above them.
At the end of November, Hurzeler had his side sitting fourth in the Premier League, but a difficult two-month spell saw them plummet into mid-table.
During that time, the likes of Bournemouth, Nottingham Forest and Fulham gained plaudits for their form and are among the sides said to be vying for the European spots but there was a feeling among Brighton fans that Hurzeler’s first season in charge was a disappointment.
Brighton beat Chelsea back-to-back in response to a 7-0 drubbing at Nottingham Forest
However, Brighton are four points off fourth place and could move level on points with Bournemouth in fifth when they host the Cherries on Tuesday night. However, unlike their opponents, Brighton have flown under the radar for their efforts this season.
Brighton’s highest finish in a Premier League campaign was sixth place in 2023 and that earned them a spot in the following year’s Europa League for the first time in the club’s history.
While in the past, their current position of ninth place may have sufficed for a club that 10 years ago finished 20th in the Championship, fans want more. For Veltman, the growing expectation is a reflection of how far the club has developed in the Premier League.
“It is a bit crazy how football goes,” said Veltman, who appears set to miss the Bournemouth game amid reports he could be out for several weeks with injury.
“We ended up sixth with Roberto De Zerbi, ninth with Graham Potter as well. Now, we are in a spot where you are in the top 10 and then even before the season already they’re saying we want European football. If you told us seven years ago we’d be fighting for European places, you would say probably no!
“But that’s where we are now and that’s where we want to go as well every year. I do like the expectations of getting us at least in the top seven, top six European football places because the players want that too.
“We know where we’re capable of, that’s what the gaffer is telling us as well. We need to fight the top six, we have the potential. There is that feeling that we can do much better than we’re showing now.
“We had a couple of games where we were not ourselves and still, we are really close. Our potential is much higher than we are now. The confidence is there in the dressing room.”
Last time out, Brighton put four past Southampton to set up an interesting midweek clash against Bournemouth in the race for Europe
Leading Brighton’s late push into Europe is Hurzeler.
Upon his appointment, a lot was made of his age as the youngest manager to take permanent charge of a Premier League club. Veltman is one of the five current Brighton players older than his 31-year-old manager but his appointment only adds to the excitement the squad feel about the future.
“For me, he’s not a 31-year-old. For me, he’s just a coach,” Veltman continued.
“He has that respect from us as well. We are excited [to have him here]. He’s always telling us we need to challenge the establishment.
“That’s his mindset and that’s what he brings to us. In every training, he keeps saying the same things, like run, help your team-mates, do a one-and-a-half job. The excitement is there because we know what we can achieve with him.”
It is not only the management that excites Veltman, who sees potential within the dressing room that would justify a higher finish. Kaoru Mitoma’s goal against Chelsea during their 3-0 victory captured the eye for its execution.
Sky Sports’ Jamie Carragher likened the 27-year-old’s touch and finish to both Lionel Messi and Dennis Bergkamp. High praise.
Kaoru Mitoma opened the scoring against Chelsea with a superb touch and finish
It’s taken Mitoma some time to settle into the season after his future was plunged into uncertainty during the January window with a bid from Saudi club Al Nassr. Brighton have seen big names depart in the past for lofty fees but for the Seagulls dressing room, keeping Mitoma was a signal of intent.
“I think Mitoma staying says a lot about the club,” Veltman told Sky Sports.
“We’re doing well in the Premier League now. Maybe he was not playing his best way of playing before Chelsea, but he was still in the team.
“We know he can create a chance just like that or score a goal just like that. With that confidence, he scored that goal against Chelsea. For us, it’s really, really important he stayed.”
From the playing squad to the coach, ambition is very much the buzzword word at the Amex. Brighton’s next 12 games will decide if they can turn that ambition into reality.
