Fabian Hurzeler on great support from the fans and his two newest signings

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Head coach hinted that Promise David and Jaouen Hadjam could be involved against Chelsea on Sunday

Nick Szczepanik

2026-08-29T06:30+01:00

Fabian Hurzeler salutes the North Stand after Albion's 4-0 win over Tromso on Thursday. 📷Paul Hazlewood

Albion head coach Fabian Hurzeler has paid tribute to the fans at the Amex on Thursday after the team progressed to the group stage of the Europa Conference League with a 4-0 victory over Tromso.

“Here in this club, you play a big part, so therefore I really want to emphasise this togetherness,” he said. “Second of all, I'm really happy for the supporters, for the fans.

They had a great and very energetic atmosphere on Thursday, so they get what they deserve for their support through the whole season.

“And of course I was very delighted for the players, for the staff members. So overall, a very nice feeling, but now the focus has to go to Chelsea in two days. We play a very important game, another big challenge, another big opportunity for us, so we have to be ready for that.”

He insisted that the squad was ready to face anyone in European competition. “I think in the end, if you want to achieve things, you need to beat everyone, and therefore it's another cup competition, so we know that we have to be on our highest level.

“It's a tournament, the Europa Conference, that has been dominated by English teams - West Ham, Chelsea, Crystal Palace. I think in every cup competition you have chances, so of course in certain moments you need a little bit of luck, you need a little bit of momentum, but overall I think the success from the English teams gives us also the belief, the confidence to do it.”

He also said he was content with his squad ahead of the close of the transfer window next Tuesday.

“Of course at the moment we struggle a little bit with minor issues, small injuries, but I'm not here to complain, I'm here to find solutions together with my team, and that's what we have tried to do since day one, so I'm happy with the squad.”

Fabian hinted that fans at Stamford Bridge might get a glimpse of new signings Promise David and Jaouen Hadjam on Sunday. “I think they are two great players, two great personalities, they will definitely make our squad stronger, so yes, they can definitely be options.

“Promise likes to be called Toby. He's very physical, he's fast, he's a target player, he has a different profile of a striker that we don't have in our squad, and he knows where the goal is.

“I think his past is quite rare, (in that) he made a really fast development to being a professional football player, so it shows on the one side that he's capable of doing really, really good things. On the other side we have to be very patient with him, but he adds a different profile to our squad.

“Hadjam is a player who is very good with his left foot, he's good at understanding who's the free player, (how) to find the opposite side. He's good at crossing, he's good at attacking the box, and he can be very intense out of possession, so his is a profile that we wanted to have, a profile that fits our style of play.

"Regarding both, we need to give them time, but we have a big belief that they make our squad stronger.”