Every word from Fabian Hurzeler's pre-West Ham press conference

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2025-12-06T13:30+00:00

Fabian Hurzeler has won 29 of his 62 games in charge of Albion. 📷 by James Boardman.

Fabian Hurzeler discussed Stefanos Tzimas, West Ham and striker options in his press conference ahead of our Premier League match against West Ham.

Is there any update on Stefanos Tzimas after he went off injured on Wednesday night?

The striker was treated on the pitch, before hobbling off against the Villans. 📷 by Paul Hazlewood.

I don't have great news . We must further assess Stefanos, but at the moment it looks like a long-term injury. We will find solutions, and we wish Stefanos a quick recovery. We must further assess him so I can't give you a clear schedule and a clear injury [diagnosis]. Then we will see how long he will be out. He had a scan, but there's still some things we must clarify, but it will be months. I spoke to him quickly after the game and had a message with him yesterday [Thursday]. He's a strong character who will come back stronger than he is now. It's a bad moment for him, but I always hope that the player understands how to use this time to get better, to strengthen. I'm quite sure that the environment here really will help him. His teammates will help him; the staff members will help him. Everyone is there to help him make a quick recovery. Hopefully we will see him back on the pitch soon.

How is Yasin Ayari?

I hope that he's available on Sunday. We’re not sure yet, but there's definitely a chance that he's available.

What about Kaoru Mitoma?

He's still an option. He has come back into our training sessions but had a small setback, not a big one. So hopefully he can train [on Friday] and then we will try to make him available as quickly as possible.

Did you see anything from West Ham against Manchester United on Thursday to concern you?

Soungou in the right place at the right time 🌟 pic.twitter.com/wtw6EvSn4Q
— West Ham United (@WestHam) December 5, 2025

I think every team has its quality. Every team has its individual quality, especially West Ham. If they're attacking with their midfield options, they can be a big danger. Fernandes and Paqueta, when he comes back, Wilson, they have the quality to score goals, to create something out of nothing. Teams under Nuno are very disciplined. They know how to defend, they know how to win games. We have to keep pushing. We have to push our limits and our standards. We have to understand that the small margins can make the difference. No matter if it's a throw-in or a set-piece. These are all things that can change the game. We have to be aware of that, and then we have to go into the game with the right mindset. For me, this game is about having the right character and the right personalities on the pitch to win it.

What will coming back to draw at Old Trafford do for West Ham's morale and mentality?

I think Old Trafford is not an easy place to go and to take something home with you, so they will be happy. But it's about us, it's about our approach. It's about how we enter the game, how intense can we play, how much energy we can bring to the pitch, how good we can do the small margins for 90 minutes. The key bit is to go and bring our style of play, to go and start the game with a lot of energy and to play with it until the end.

The stats show that you've got a really good record against West Ham. I's the worst win rate they've got against any team in the Premier League. Can you use that as an incentive, maybe as part of your team talking the build-up of the game?

I don't like statistics, but this time maybe I take them!

Is that something that maybe the players are aware of or you can make them aware of?

I don't know if the players are aware of this sort of thing normally. I just use statistics regarding things you can influence by your behaviour. But definitely from my mind it's very positive. I will leave this room with a positive feeling thanks to you!

The winner in this fixture last season was a great wonder goal right at the end from Carlos…

It was an unbelievable finish. I hope that we don't have to decide the game in the last minutes to get the three points. I hope that we start the game well, I hope that we play a good game for 90 minutes, that we defend well, that we keep the clean sheet, that we try to create good chances. That's the main approach. If we have to go for a late winner, of course we try to, but I hope to solve it before [that’s needed].

Are you a believer in revenge? The biggest defeat of your managerial career was to Nuno…

Nuno’s teams are always difficult to play against. That game is definitely the worst defeat in my career so far. It's not about revenge, it's not about me against Nuno. It's about Brighton against West Ham. It's a different team, different approaches, different players. It's really about the players. I focus on my players, I focus on the preparation, I focus on keeping the energy level high. Then let's see what happens.

Is the environment here important for long-term injured players to still feel part of it or are they sort of cast aside?

No, the biggest value here is togetherness. We are never a team that will win games or be successful through individual quality. This club here will be successful if everyone sticks together, and therefore every player is welcomed in every meeting. Every player can share opinion no matter if you're injured or not. And every player can be involved in training sessions, no matter if you're injured or not. I think that's so important that we don't try to separate the groups. We try to bring them together, especially when players are injured they go through a dark time mentally. They will have doubts, they will have fears. Especially in these times, we really must make sure that we keep the mentally on track because I've experienced a lot when some players lose their mental resilience. Some players had so many doubts and so many fears that they didn't come back like they were before. And I think that's our responsibility, to keep them as part of the group. There's no better environment in any other league than we have here.

What did you make of Carlos Baleba’s reaction playing against Villa after he was on the bench against Forest?

I was pleased with the performance from him, he showed a good reaction – although he wasn't able to play for 90 minutes. But there was a step forward and I think we can't expect in these phases of his career big steps. We can't expect magical performances like we might have seen from him last season. It's now about taking small steps forward. One time it might feel like a big step, but it's really about trying to keep pushing, and physically and mentally getting back on track.

Did the mindset at the start of the game against Villa slip after Stefanos’ injury? Was there a change on that side?

I wouldn't say that it was a massive change. Of course, every injury affects the team, especially when it's a bad injury, but I think it was more an energy thing. We weren't able to keep the energy like we kept it in the first minutes. We weren't able to defend the small margins. I think that the biggest difference in this game was the set pieces, they changed the game. Besides that, I saw two teams competing for the win. The game was on the edge, it could have gone in either direction this time, but it didn’t go in ours. We must accept it. We must understand what we need to do to win these games because there were small things we could do better.

Ferdi Kadioglu has played more than 15 professional games in about eight different positions on the pitch. If you had a team of Ferdis with his versatility, his attitude, everything, what sort of performance would you get?

Ferdi Kadioglu in action at the Amex. 📷 by Paul Hazlewood.

So regarding sprinting distance, regarding high speed and distance covered, it would be the best team in the league – but I think it would struggle a little bit with set pieces! I prefer a lot of Ferdis in my team, but I also need big Ferdis. If we could build big Ferdis as well – physical and tall Ferdis – that would be unbelievable. We're really pleased with him.

With Stefanos being out, where does that leave you in terms of your striking options?

We will find solutions for that. Brajan Gruda played against Aston Villa and he made an assist when he played as the striker. We already played there with Diego last season. We played with Jack Hinshelwood last season and we still have Danny. Danny Welbeck is in good form and is in great shape so we are quite confident that we can overcome and find solutions for the injured players.

If Stefanos's injury is long term, are recalling players on loan an option?

Let's see when January comes as to how we try to make the team better and what changes we want to do. We still have a few weeks to go. We try to really focus on the present because now we can't change anything. We need to find solutions with the squad and with the players we have. And the squad is good enough to find good solutions.

In terms of positives to come out of the other night, one is Jan Paul van Hecke. His stats have gone through the roof now not just defending, but also with the ball. Have you seen that change in his game over the last two seasons in terms of his ability with the ball?

Yes, we see a change. I see that he has a good understanding of when to play short or when to play a long ball or a diagonal ball. He has a good understanding of when he breaks the line from the striker, so when he can drive the ball, when he can pass the opponent and try to create a numerical advantage in the midfield area. He gets increasingly better in his one against ones with good strikers who are fast and physical. I see great development as a player. I also see a step forward as a leader. We still want to give him more responsibility and ownership, because I think he can be a great leader one day and therefore he needs to go through development regarding this. But I see a person and a player who's willing to grow every day.