The first international break of the season has come to a close, and, as such, the Premier League resumes this weekend with high-flyers Brighton and Hove Albion set to welcome newcomers Ipswich Town to the Amex Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
Before the international fixtures brought a sudden halt to the domestic action, the Seagulls established themselves as a force to be reckoned with thanks to statement results against two of the traditional big six, leaving them nestled rather nicely in third place.
Following a comprehensive opening day victory at Goodison Park, Fabian Hürzeler’s men sunk Manchester United with a stoppage-time winner from João Pedro before the Brazilian popped up again a week later at the Emirates Stadium to clinch a point against Arsenal.
While Albion have shown they are more than capable of hanging with the league’s big guns, Hürzeler made it clear ahead of the Tractor Boys’ visit this weekend that he expects his side to take no liberties against teams at the opposite end of the table.
“For me, the expectations are always the same, to go out on the pitch and show the basic things,” the Brighton boss remarked.
“The basic things are the things you can influence, so winning personal duels, running more than the opponent, doing more high speed metres.
“These are all things you can influence, and that is what I demand from my team in every game, no matter if you play against Manchester United or Ipswich.”
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The positives of international breaks
The September international break is often heavily criticised for preventing domestic leagues from getting into full flow; however, Hürzeler chose to adopt a positive outlook towards it, focusing on how it can help the players.
“I think there are always advantages and disadvantages of an international break, and in the end, you have to find the best solutions for the break,” said the young German coach.
“It was our chance to get some players back from injury, to integrate some players back in our squad, and of course, I think the international break was also good for us because a lot of players played, so they collected a lot of game time.”
Hürzeler specifically praised Pervis Estupiñán for starting both of Ecuador’s matches following his return from a lengthy injury, as well as João Pedro for making his second appearance for Brazil.
However, several other Seagulls also made notable contributions on the international stage.
The recently crowned Brighton Player of the Month, Jan Paul van Hecke, made his senior international debut for the Netherlands; Julio Enciso started for Paraguay in a famous victory for his nation over Brazil; and Jack Hinshelwood lined up at Kenilworth Road for his England under-21 debut.
“I think they gain a lot of self-confidence from their debuts and victories,” claimed Hürzeler.
The former St. Pauli coach also made it clear that he personally found the break beneficial as it allowed him the opportunity “to reflect on and re-analyse the first few weeks”.
“I think it is very important to reflect on yourself, what is going well so far, and what can be improved upon,” the German added.
“That is the first thing I did, and then the second thing is planning the next phase because we have a lot of games in the next period; we have a lot of home games, and, therefore, we want to use this chance.”
Despite their scintillating start to the season, it has not all been plain sailing for Brighton thus far, with a plethora of injuries in midfield meaning Hürzeler may have to trust in youth against Ipswich.
The Brighton boss suggested that James Milner will play no part in Saturday’s game while also revealing that Mats Wieffer, who sustained a minor injury in the opening game week, is back in training but remains a doubt.
“James had a scan; it was not a big issue, but with him, we have to go day by day,” remarked Hürzeler.
“It is an issue that we cannot approximate; we have to be patient,” he added.
Regarding Wieffer, Hürzeler said: “He is training with the team, then we have to make a decision together with the medical department.
“We don’t need to take any risks, and we won’t take any high risks.”
The list of midfield absentees does not end there, of course, with new signing Matt O’Riley recovering from ankle surgery after being forced off after only nine minutes on his debut in the Carabao Cup tie against Crawley Town.
However, Hürzeler provided a positive update for Seagulls fans on the fitness of the Danish midfielder: “He is in very good spirits; he has a great character and great attitude.
“Immediately after surgery, he was very positive and around us on the training ground.
“He is doing his rehab already, and I think he will be coming back quite fast.”
That was not the only piece of good news shared by the Premier League’s Manager of the Month as he gave reporters a promising update on Solly March, who has been out of action with a knee injury since the early stages of last season.
“I would not say he is close because if you are injured for that long, it is a long way back, but he has made a great impression.
“He is training now fully with us, but he cannot train every training session; we have to be very patient.
“But the positive thing is he is back on the training pitch and is in very good shape; we are all impressed by how good he is already after his long injury.”
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Kieran McKenna’s style of play
From the very beginning of his tenure as Brighton manager, Hürzeler has stuck by the age-old saying that ‘in the Premier League, there is no easy game,’ and he reiterated the mantra when questioned on what he expected from Kieran McKenna’s Ipswich.
“Ipswich is a team with a great coach and great players,” said Hürzeler before singling out Omari Hutchinson, who he described as a “very flexible young striker” capable of hurting his side.
Turning his focus towards their team as a whole, Hürzeler remarked that McKenna has created a “great togetherness and a great idea” at the Suffolk-based club and admitted his admiration for their “very intense” attacking and pressing football.
“When you watch their matches, you always see a clear identity and idea; they want to play out from the back, and they don’t use a lot of long balls.
“There is a clear structure of how they want to build up no matter if they play against Liverpool, Manchester City or Fulham.
“It is very impressive, and we know it will be a tough challenge for us.”
As Seagulls fans will have witnessed in the opening weeks of the season, Hürzeler wants his players to all be flexible in their positioning and capable of playing out from the back, and with this in mind, the Brighton boss was asked by the press if he sees similarities between his and McKenna’s tactics.
“There are similarities, but in the end, I think you can’t copy any style of play; you always have to find your own idea,” responded Hürzeler.
“But again, he is a great coach; he is doing a great job there, and I am really looking forward to competing against him.”
