Manager Chris Hughton has confirmed that Brighton have no fresh injury concerns ahead of the tie against Stoke City on Monday evening.
Hosting Mark Hughes side at the Amex Stadium for the game following the culmination of the November international break, Hughton met with the media earlier this afternoon and he covered a number of topics as he usually does.
Speaking to the Official Site in his pre game press conference, he opened with team news.
‘At this moment we`re all fine with injuries. We haven`t had too many away on international duty but we`ve got a couple still to come back – Maty Ryan`s got a long way to come but we`re all fine as things stand. The extra few days for the game against Stoke City helps for Maty and it`s an advantage for both us and him. It goes without saying after the result on Wednesday he`ll come back to us in good spirits too.’
Reflecting on Brighton’s form at the moment, that was obviously a source of pleasure for Hughton.
‘We`re on a good run in recent weeks and the two away wins over West Ham and Swansea City respectively are brilliant because at this level victories on the road are hard to come by. We`re back on home soil on Monday evening and it seems a long time since the game a few weeks ago at the Liberty Stadium now. We hope that we`ve got the levels of the players right. We`re up against a good and resilient side on Monday so we`ll have to be at our best. With where we are and where we`ve come from, I don`t think we`ll be favourites too often ahead of matches, but we`ve played at a level to put ourselves where we are at the moment, and so we have to focus on that.’
With the international break behind us now, Brighton head towards the busy December and festive period, so he was delighted to see us go into the break on the back of victory over Swansea.
‘Going into the international break winning at Swansea was massive because we knew the schedule that was coming up over the next six weeks and into the Christmas period and New Year. There`ll be a period that will test us and give us an indication of where we are, but we knew that was coming and we have to be prepared for it – whether that`s over the upcoming weeks or in the latter half of the season.’
With Hughton already talking about how the side have surpassed his expectations in the early months of the season, that topic again came up.
‘We`ve surpassed my expectations with where we are at this stage of the season, of course and I`m delighted with it. But you just don`t know how you`re going to fare before the campaign, it was our first start in the Premier League and it`s about sustaining it now. I`ve been delighted by both the points total and the way we`ve conducted ourselves in matches as well.’
Glenn Murray came in for praise once again.
‘We know what we have in Glenn, he`s been consistent wherever he`s been and he`s always scored goals. Perhaps as you get a bit older and more experienced you lose a few bits from your game but you never lose where the goal is and we`re delighted that he`s able to do that with us because it`s having a great impact on the team. When we brought him in we knew what he would give us because he`s always scored goals. As a club we want a striker that can contribute to the team first and foremost, whilst scoring goals and at the moment that`s what we`re getting from him.’
