Hurzeler: I will have to rest Gross but he's very important for us

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Head coach pays tribute to midfielder's fitness after he completed yet another 90 minutes against Brentford.

2026-11-10T07:00+00:00

Fabian Hurzeler on Pascal Gross: 'He had this hunger inside of him to go into the season on a really high level.' 📷James Boardman.

Fabian Hurzeler heaped further praise on 35-year-old Pascal Gross following another imperious performance in the centre of the pitch during Albion’s 2-0 win over Brentford.

Gross found the net moments before the break with an exquisite spot-kick into the top-right corner that Bees' goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher could do little about.

It was the German’s eighth goal contribution of the league campaign, but it was another game that showcased his tenacity and talent across all areas.

Hurzeler pointed to the work of his backroom staff as a key element of Gross’s success as well as the player’s unstinting efforts which means he has played in every game so far this season.

“I think that's the foundation of Pascal,” he said. “His physicality of being able to play that many minutes [is] because he has great staff around him. And besides them, of course, Pascal has this motivation inside him to always get better.

“I really want to praise my staff first because the effort they showed the last five weeks with so many away games is just impressive, and they put so much effort into recovery for the players.

"There is so much work in the shadows, so much work no one sees about recovery, preparation, massage, nutrition and doing good sessions in the gym.”

“But with Pascal I mentioned it already a few times. He set the foundation by himself in the pre-season. He was running on a high level every day. He couldn't switch off. He had this hunger inside of him to go into this season on a really high level.

“There are only a few players who really train to dominate opponents, and he trains to dominate opponents, and therefore he just has a special mindset.”

“I didn't think about taking him off on Sunday because he's a very important player on and off the pitch for us. I didn't see that his level dropped against Brentford because I didn't have the feeling he got tired during the game.”

Hurzeler was asked whether he will need to rest his midfielder at some point.

“Yes, of course. There will be a moment where we need to rest him, and he knows it, and I already have said it to him.

“But now he has his own international break. He's unfortunately not playing for Germany anymore. And therefore, he has some days off.

“He will recover, and then of course there will be a point where we need to take care of his health as well like we try to take care of every player's health.”