Sussex

Holly Bacon
BBC Sport journalist

Brighton boss Fabian Hurzeler has been speaking to the media before Saturday's Premier League game against Tottenham at the Totteham Hotspur Stadium (kick-off 17:30 BST).

Here are the key lines from his news conference:

• Hurzeler said James Milner is still out but is "getting close" to a return. There was nothing else to report on team news.

• The Brighton boss says his predecessor Roberto De Zerbi is due recognition for his achievements with the Seagulls but maintains his full focus is on winning the game: "I think he deserves the praise because he had a huge impact here on this club. He had great achievements with the players. He reached Europe for the first time so he deserves this praise. On the other side, when the whistle starts, it's a game between Brighton and Tottenham and our approach is the same. We are there to achieve something, we are there to win this game. We are there to keep showing the right habits and therefore that's our main focus."

• Hurzeler said "form doesn't win you games" and that they have a responsibility to "show the right habits".

• On Albion's upturn in form, he added: "Before we had this run now, our performances weren't bad, the only difference was that we weren't able to get the results. It is not a surprise for us." He also said the supporters are key and that they can really compete with that "togetherness".

• Hurzeler was asked whether he is surprised at the situation Spurs find themselves in: "I think everyone is a little bit surprised but on the other hand it's very important to understand how ruthless the Premier League can be, how tight the Premier League is. You need to be at your highest level every weekend. We experienced, with a bad run this season, if you're not doing the right behaviour daily then you have no chance at the weekend."

• Finally on Saturday's game, the Brighton boss said: "Our goal is that we make our supporters loud, proud and therefore we need to have our style of play. We need to go there and play intense football, don't give them any hope and be very mature in our approach."

Listen to commentary of Tottenham v Brighton on BBC Radio 5 Live from 17:30 BST on Saturday

Follow all of Friday's Premier League news conferences and the rest of the day's football news

Got a question about Brighton? Get in touch here and we'll seek answers from our experts

England defender Joe Gomez, 28, remains a target for Brighton, Crystal Palace and AC Milan. (Telegraph - subscription required), external

Want more transfer stories? Read Friday's full gossip column

Follow the gossip column on BBC Sport

Image source, Getty Images

We asked for your views on whether Fabian Hurzeler has won fans over given a surge in recent form off the back of a difficult spell early in 2026.

Here are some of your comments:

Chris: I think he has a bright future. However, his naivety and lack of Premier League experience has been exposed at times this season. That said, when it comes to giving a manager time to develop, you couldn't pick a better club than Brighton. Tony Bloom doesn't panic and always sees the bigger picture.

Colin: Criticism of our manager at any point since his arrival has been laughable. He's been consistently excellent and is improving all the time. It was only a minority who dissented during our bad run and anyone with any sense could see that the performances were better than the results. I hope he stays for 10 years.

Tony: I have mostly been a 'Hurzeler in' fan but at times this season we seem to have gone backwards and at times the subs and tactics have been baffling. Having said that we now seem to be playing with more composure and a more attacking style. All is good for the future.

Westy: Has Hurzeler won me over? Maybe. In my case, the frustration and annoyance came from him making life hard for himself. I knew we could get results and be better, and now we are. The constant tinkering and playing players out of position was infuriating. The two times this season we've had a settled team are the the spells we've got results. He must learn from this.

Sam: I'm not sure it was ever a results issue. The frustration from the majority of fans came from a lack of connection with the manager. If those results had happened and Hurzeler had built a connection, the response wouldn't have been as extreme. Has he won over the fans? There is still work for him to do, but recent appearances from him at full time, rather than disappearing down the tunnel, certainly go a long way to building a connection that had been missing.

Chris: He's presided over two big dips in form. One each season. There's got to be big question marks over his confidence and how he passes that into our young players.

Brighton were on a six-game winless run in the Premier League from 7January until they overcame Brentford on 21 February.

At the time, the likes of Clinton Morrison spoke of "huge pressure" on Fabian Hurzeler given boos greeted some performances. Journalist Luke Edwards told the BBC things were "drifting" for the club.

In all, Hurzeler's side had only won one league game in 13 from 3 December to 14 February. The Seagulls have won five of their last six however.

So we want to know, has he won fans over? How do you feel about his position and the direction of things now?

Get in touch with your views here