Read every word from Fabian Hurzeler's pre-Chelsea press conference

Main Club Sponsor

TICKETS

SHOP

Read in full what the manager had to say in Saturday's press conference.

Charlie Hanson

2025-09-26T14:15+01:00

Fabian Hurzeler's team take on Chelsea on Saturday. 📷 by James Boardman.

Fabian Hurzeler covered team news, Diego Gomez's four goals at Barnsley and much more in his press conference ahead of Saturday's game at Chelsea.

What's the latest team news for the game against Chelsea?

There's some positive news. Mats Wieffer will be back, Maxim De Cuyper will be back. Jack Hinshelwood is still out. So overall we have some more options, especially regarding our full-backs.

Can I just ask about Brajan Gruda? He looked to be limping [after the Tottenham game] just slightly when he came off. Is he okay?

Yes. He recovered this week, he had some days off because of this small issue, he received a hit [during the game], so therefore he needed a bit of treatment. But he trained yesterday, so he will be fine.

And Yankuba Minteh, is he fine? He was just feeling his back slightly…

The same for him. He had some days to recover. He trained yesterday, so he will be fine.

Diego Gomez. Plenty has been talked about him after his superb four goals against Barnsley. I suppose it's fair to say he's played his way into possible selection?

Of course. First of all, we are all happy for him because he deserved it and he looked like a very happy guy. I'm sure that he slept next to the ball – he took the ball home, everyone signed it. It was a special moment, a special evening for him. Let's see how we will decide tomorrow, because of course there's a lot of competition regarding this position. We are happy that he's in a good place. Let's see if he'll start for us.

He gave an interview to a radio station in Paraguay, where he talked about how he enjoyed playing on the wing when he was at Inter Miami, because it allowed him to get into the box. You played him like an inverted right winger against Barnsley. Is that perhaps a position that you might use him in the Premier League?

It's definitely an option. When you ask him what is his favourite position, he answers that he can play everywhere because he has this ability where he's good in every position. He's very disciplined against the ball. He has a big danger when he attacks the opponent's box. He has a good shot. He proved it in the last game. So overall, he's a player that can play in several positions. For us, it's always to figure out where he can be the most effective and then we have to make the right decision.

You're coming up against a Chelsea team that will include Joao Pedro. What have you made to his start at Chelsea?

Of course, Joao was a special player for us, and it's not easy to replace him one-to-one. But we have tried to as a team, and I think we have done quite well. There's always a process. New players have to step in. New young players with big potential have to step in and they have to prove themselves every weekend that they're ready for that. But they need time, that doesn't happen the day they join. So that's the first thing. And the second thing is that Joao is a special player, he proved it already with Chelsea in the first games that he played, he scored goals. He's very good in possession. He's a game changer for them, so we have to defend against him as a team. We have to defend against him as a unit, and I'm sure that we are capable of doing that.

You said previously that you can't replace Joao Pedro in terms of his individual ability, that you can replace him by making sure that everybody steps up and replaces him as a team. Do you think you are making progress in that particular area?

Joao Pedro scored 30 goals in 70 games for Albion. 📷 by Paul Hazlewood.

Yes. I see it day by day in the training speed and also game by game. I see that the young players step up, like a Gruda or Diego Gomez, there are also new players like Stefanos and Babis. They're adapting more and more. They seem to be ready more and more and I'm sure that in the future they will be there to make a difference for us in the games.

Diego proved it now against Barnsley and now I think it's also for the others to make the next step to be a game changer for us during the games. And then I'm sure that we will replace him sooner or later.

Cole Palmer was obviously instrumental in the corresponding fixture last season, scoring all four of Chelsea’s goals in a 4-2 victory. He's likely to be missing the game due to a groin injury. What do you make of Cole Palmer and how will it help if he's not available?

First of all, we can't influence if he's playing or not. It's very important to focus on our game, to focus on how we want to play because we don't know if he will start or not. If he's starting, for sure he's a game changer for them. He has special skill. He is one of the best Premier League players. He has a special left foot. He can decide a game in one action. It's the same regarding Joao. It's about defending as a team. It's about defending as a unit, but it's not about only defending, it's also about going there and playing our style of play, going there and finding solutions in possession. If you go there and try to only defend then you won't have a chance. So that's our approach. Of course we need to prepare for both scenarios. But the key thing is to focus on us. We bring our quality on the pitch and then we have a chance to go there and win the game.

And just one on the start of the season, after five games you have five points. Is that slightly concerning you? slightly disappointed that you haven't got more points? And how important is it to try and get more points very quickly?

For sure. We are not happy with the results, but the main thing is not to focus too much on the results. In the end, we all get judged by results. That's something that we know, but it's very important in this business that you stay calm, that you don't overreact, that you stay positive, that you keep working, that you don't try to go into every weekend to the game and say, ‘now we have to win’. It's about the process. It's about focusing on the development. It's about focusing on us. It's about having good training sessions, showing the effort we can do every day. And then I'm sure that we will get the reward sooner or later because when we look at the games, when we have the momentum on our side we could have one or two decisions for us in the game, then we could easily be here with more points. That's also part of the truth, that's why I think it's very important to not overreact, to stay calm in the right moments, to focus on the things you can influence. In some moments, you can't influence the result. You can only influence your performance regarding your effort, regarding how you defend as a team, regarding with how much confidence or courage you play with. These are things we can influence. That's what I want to see from my team. That we go into the game and have the belief in ourselves, the trust in each other that we are capable of beating every team in the league. We proved that already this season. We proved that in the past. We proved already in the past that we can overcome these phases and in these phases you learn the most. In these phases you have to stick closer together. And that's where characters are built and personalities are built. And that's why we are trying to overcome this phase with calmness, with positivity, and with focusing on the things we can influence.

Which of Diego Gomez’s goals against Barnsley is your favourite?

Photo 1/30

Diego Gomez helped himself to four goals at Oakwell on Tuesday evening, as Albion score 6 for the second time in the Carabao Cup this season. Club photographer Paul Hazlewood was in Yorkshire to capture all the action.

That's a good question. The third one was unbelievable. I think the intensity, how we won the ball, the intensity, how we went after the long ball. It was just impressive. The last one was a good team goal, it was well played. I love every goal because in every goal there's something positive inside and that's what we need. That's what we try to keep doing.

You spoke about Danny Welbeck last week. He got an assist against Barnsley. Are you finding that might have given him a bit of the confidence that he's maybe lacking so far this season?

I think that he had a good game. He didn't score, but I don't judge the strikers by scoring goals. I judge the strikers by how they work for the team, how they are playing in the phases when we have the ball. I think that he did a good job and now it's about him as well to get out of this phase, he can only step out by working hard, by believing in himself. Of course, he gets the trust from us, the belief from us, the support from us, what he needs. But Danny Welbeck is a very experienced player. He experienced these phases a lot in his career. We are all very confident that he will step out of this phase, that he will overcome this phase and will come back stronger.

Carlos Baleba is yet to play 90 minutes at club level this season. Last season he was a regular every week. What's changed over the past few months and how are you working with him to get him back to the Baleba that we saw last season?

We’re very patient with Carlos. Carlos is a young player, a young player who had an unbelievable development last season, and a development that can't always go up and up. There will be waves in his development and at the moment he's in a wave. We need to give him the support and the trust he needs. I saw a Carlos Baleba against Barnsley who seemed to be physical already, and now it's about us giving him more and more game time, trying to push his limits, trying to use every training session. He’s getting physically more ready for the Premier League and I'm sure that he will be back on his highest level, on his top level, maybe already on Saturday.

Chelsea haven't been playing their best at Stamford Bridge this season, but they seem to have been getting the results. Is that a bit of a concern ahead of tomorrow?

No, we don't have any concerns. The Premier League is so competitive and it's about small margins and they have had the small margins on their side. Therefore, they had the results. We don't have them. But it can change quickly in football. The only thing is you have to believe in yourself. You need to trust each other. You need to stay positive, focusing on the things that you can influence. That's what I always try to repeat because these are the main things. We have already proved that we are capable of beating everyone in the league. We can do it as a team, but only as a team, only together when we push our limits. Only if you keep the standards high. Only if you're really trying to make the most of small margins. These are things that we have to focus on. Then I'm sure, the football business can change quickly, but never overreact, always stay calm, stay solution orientated and then I'm sure that we will get the results.

Are you impressed by the strength they have, that they can just bring another player who's equally as good as Cole Palmer for example?

Yes, but that's typical for the Premier League and for the top five teams. When you look at the squad, when you look at the money they spend, it's just impressive and it's normal that they have high individual quality. But there are only 11 players on the pitch and it's 11 against 11. If we have our 11 on the pitch, we are a great football team. We are a team that can hurt any team in the league and that's what we're trying to do tomorrow.

And we talked about results and performance. How close do you think this team is to where you want them to be at this stage in the season?

That's a difficult question to answer because if you say ‘no, we are quite close’ then everyone says, ‘why do you only have five points then?’ So that's the thing with football, you get judged by the points and by the results. It's also part of my job to deal with these things. My thing is to keep these things away from the team because the team can't control the results. The team can control their approach, their performance, their effort, how they stick together, how they support each other. These are the things they can influence. I see a team that works together. I see a team that sticks together. I see every day a team with a lot of energy, with high quality. I really enjoy training with them and working with them. We can't be happy about the results, about the points we had at the beginning of the season. But if we keep working hard, if we keep trying to play the best way we can, then we are a good football team and then we will get the rewards.

In terms of the game last season, it was a tough afternoon wasn't it? What did you take from that experience quite early on in your time? You weren’t in the dugout either?

I remember it quite well. It was quite helpful for me and the whole team because in moments like this you reflect the most, you analyse the most. It's also shows a little bit of my personality. If you always win and you have a good streak of wins, it's quite easy to stay positive. It's easy to analyse games, to be in front of the media, to talk about the team, but when you get a big defeat, when you have a bad experience, then I think you grow as a person. Then you grow as a team. These moments we used last season to analyse it, so we could be even stronger, to stick together even stronger. We proved last season that these experiences didn't break us. They made us better. We analysed it together. We tried to find solutions. And after that, I think we were much better than in the game against Chelsea. These games also showed that in the Premier League if you don't take care of the small margins, if you're not defending well as a team, if you make simple mistakes, then you get punished quite quickly. We had to have a bad experience. Hopefully we can do it better tomorrow.

Just in terms of, Chelsea, a lot happened before you arrived, but how aware are you of everything that's happened between the two clubs and this sort of underlying rivalry that maybe has built up over the last few years?

I experience it myself. But I heard a lot in the past and in the end it's a football game There might be a little bit more emotions in the game because a lot of players from Brighton moved there. I think not everyone was happy about the moves, but in football we have to accept it. The only thing we can answer that with is by having a good performance and trying to make our supporters happy and proud tomorrow, and give them what they deserve. They always support us in amazing ways. It's very important that we try to give them something back tomorrow. We can't promise a win, but what we can promise is that we will give everything, that we go there trying to play intensely, trying to play with courage, and then we have a chance to win this game.

I just wanted to ask you about something away from the pitch. The club sent out a message about men's mental health recently. I just wondered whether you'd seen it and whether you had any thoughts on it in terms of that video and the message it sent?

I saw the video and I think it was a very impactful video, a video that represents the reality of life. I think it's very important to understand two things. The first thing is you don't show any weakness if you speak about your problems. No matter who you are. A man, woman, or child. I think it's very important to speak about your problems, to open yourself. I think it's not a weakness. It's even more strength if you're capable of doing that. And the second thing, I think it's not only the individual person, it's also society. Nowadays, you got judged by every small thing you do, by the things you're wearing, by how you think you act. Our society need to be more accepting of different genders, of different thinking, of different problems we have nowadays. I think it's very important that on one side, show the strength and open yourself, to find the people you trust and speak to them. Second of all, I think we as a society, we also have responsibility that we take care of people who might be in problems, to take care of people who have individual bad moments in their life. Try to support each other, help each other and respect each other more. So the video touched me because it's quite emotional and it's a big topic nowadays. I just emphasise to everyone, if you have any problems, find a person you trust and speak about that because it's a little bit like in football. There might be times where we're in a bad place, but there's always a solution. There's always a way to step out of your bad phase. There's always something waiting for you in the future that will be more and more positive. So keep finding solutions, keep staying positive, keep staying calm. Keep yourself open and speak to each other. Then I'm sure that the world can be great.