Centre half Lewis Dunk has dusted himself down following Brighton’s draw against Aston Villa on the final day of the Championship campaign and looked to the positives.
With the final day and recent matches seeing Brighton lose their grip on the Championship title this year, Dunk admitted it had been a bigger blow than he expected but he had to be content with securing promotion to the Premier League as that had been the ultimate aim.
Speaking to the Official Site as he met with the media in midweek Dunk explained that nobody should let the ending disappointment overshadow our achievements this campaign.
‘I didn’t realise before this game how tough I’d take not winning the league. Now that’s happened it’s devastating, but the whole summer last year, until we turned up for pre-season, I didn’t get over it. It was such a near miss, missing out by one goal is ridiculous but this year we’re looking forward to the Premier League, so what more do you want as a footballer? You’re in the promised land, so we’ll just look forward to that.’
Dunk went on to say.
‘We had the three chances to do it (title), but we gave our all and if it’s not meant to be, it’s not meant to be. To concede in the 89th minute against ten men, it just wasn’t meant to be for us. We’ve just got to get over this little hurdle we’ve got, prepare for next year, come back flying and do the best we can in the Premier League.’
With this Sunday’s promotion parade on the card, the 25 year old said everyone was relishing that and the opportunity of Premier League football next season.
‘On Sunday, we’ve got to soak it up and appreciate all the fans who will turn out and give them praise. Hopefully it’s going to be a great day, the disappointment has left us by then and we can enjoy it as much as the fans.’
Adding.
‘It’s going to be amazing playing in the Premier League, I’m a local boy and walking out for my hometown club in the stadium is going to be a dream come true for me and for everyone. I can’t wait for that moment and am just looking forward to it now. I hope it comes around very quickly.’
