Every word from Fabian Hurzeler before Wolves at the Amex

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Head coach reflects on busy week, with Wolves up next.

2026-05-08T14:30+01:00

Fabian Hurzeler signed a new three-year contract on Thursday. 📸 by James Boardman.

Fabian Hurzeler discussed his new three-year contract in his press conference on Friday, with his team taking on Wolves at the Amex on Saturday.

Fabian what does it mean to you that Tony Bloom has shown his commitment and faith in you by giving you a new three-year contract?

A lot. I'm very happy. I feel the trust and a good connection. We're always have a very transparent and honest exchange, it's crucial for our relationship. But now it's really about focusing on the final part of the season. We have three games to go and we want to finish strongly. So regarding my mindset, nothing has changed. I'm here to improve the players. I'm here to achieve something together with the players, together with the staff. I'm happy for what the players have done so far and now it's about getting a reward for all the work they've done.

When were you or your representatives first approached by the club about a new deal?

It's always a daily exchange and therefore I can't say to you there was this point where they came to me. I think we feel a lot of mutual trust and belief in each other. We talk about several things and we also talked about extending my contract. It's a process. I can't say to you there was this point where they came and said, ‘now we want to do it’. No matter if we had highs, no matter if we had lows, I always felt that we are building something. We started to build a foundation. We keep improving these small things and I'm really excited looking ahead of us because I see a bright future for this club and I'm proud to be a part of it.

You say you've always had constant dialogue with Tony Bloom, Paul Barber and the hierarchy. A contract is a two-way thing, you must have been looking for certain things from them in the discussions. Can you tell us what they were? Did it relate to squad strengthening in the summer?

There are some internal things that I won't share. But first of all, regarding the squad, I'm a coach. I really enjoy working with this group and I really see a big potential in this group. I think that we have a good mix of all players, of young players and I'm happy with the quality of the squad. I think we've proved it this season what is in this squad if we are on the highest level. Of course, you always have to be on your highest level if you want to achieve something in the Premier League. But if you do this, then we have a strong squad. And of course, you always try to improve certain things. There might be players who will leave the club. That is normal in this club. There might be players who will come. But one thing that never changes is our expectation, our work ethic, our standards and our culture. That's why I'm here and that's why the players are here. We want to drive it together with the owner, together with Paul [Barber]. We're always looking for small improvements, but overall I'm really happy with the group, with the players, with the characters from the players, with the staff I have. So what I can say is I'm not going into these conversations saying I'm unhappy otherwise I wouldn't have extended the contract.

You were very bullish in the club interview that you've done. You want to be at a club that wins something and to do that you've got to keep building, keep developing. There is an element in there that means signing better players?

Or you improve the players – that's always the way from this club. We have a good mix between experienced players and a young group with a lot of potential and I think they haven’t 100% fulfilled their potential yet, so it's our responsibility to improve them, to develop them. On the other side, it's not always about quality. Sometimes it's just about togetherness, about culture, about the right standards, because I feel that we have enough quality in the squad to achieve something with this group. But it's really about reacting well to defeats, victories, highs and lows, always staying together. The club is on the right way. There are always things you can improve and we would never want to stagnate. We always want to make the next step. We want to be a club that is not only known for being well structured or well run, we also want to be known as a club that can achieve something, that we can win something. That is our expectation as well because that's why we are driven. That's why I also do this job. It's about winning. It's about making this next step together with this club and that's the only focus.

You came to the club as a 31-year-old. You finished eighth last season and could achieve another eighth place finish, possibly higher. You would start to attract some admiring glances – has there been interest in you from outside?

When you are successful as a club, as a team, then you will shine as individuals. Of course you will get offers from big clubs. That doesn’t only count for the players, it counts the same for me as a young coach. But what I always had belief in is that I want to build something here and I have a big belief in this club that we can achieve something together. We have started building a really good foundation, we have started a really good journey and it's not done yet, we can keep building. In the last month we really built a strong relationship with the supporters, built a connection with them and that was a main reason for me to extend this contract as well because that's what I always love. If it’s a strong relationship between fans and the team, then you can really create something, you can really build an atmosphere in the stadium. In a way, that makes it difficult to play against us. I feel that I'm settled here. Now it's about making the next step together and I want to be a part of it.

When you look back at the end of the three-year period when your deal comes to an end, what would you like to be able to reflect on for those three years and how would you like to describe that period?

The most important thing for me is always to remember it's a people's business – you're working with human beings. That's the main thing for me, that if I finish in, I don't know in how many years, that people remind me that I was not only a coach that was there for the players, a coach that was there for the staff. I want to also be a person that was there for the person behind the player, for the person behind the member of staff. I'm really strong on this connection and building this relationship. The second thing regarding the sport part is I want to build a high-performance culture where you support each other, you take care of each other, but you also challenge each other. That's crucial for this club to keep on having this relentless development but always having this winning mentality. If you focus on process, if you focus on improving the players, then the long-term results will come and that's the bit we want to focus on. When I'm finished here, I think these two things would be great. Having silverware comes from working hard, having the right work process - if you have the right relationships with the players and the staff then you can in the end achieve something and that's definitely in our mind. First of all, though, it is a people's business. Second of all, it's about focus on the performances, to build this performance culture. Then I'm 100% sure that this club has everything to achieve something that stays in the mind of the supporters and makes history.

The timing of the announcement is quite interesting with three games still to go. Is that good for you? Has it made you more confident going into the last three games where there's so much at stake, possibly securing a place in Europe?

Clarity is always important. Clarity regarding the last three games is crucial and that's why we said we want to finish this [contract talks] as quickly as possible. Then we have clarity because there are always noises, end of the season noises with offers from other clubs. There'll always be noises about players. That's typical in this period when we approach the transfer window. It was so important to have this clarity to focus now just on performance, to focus now on finishing the season strong and that was the main reason.

How did you celebrate the new deal?

I didn't celebrate it, I was at home preparing for Wolves. For me, now it's a time for focusing on the next game against Wolverhampton because it's a big challenge. That's the biggest challenge we can face now and we have to bounce back after defeat against Newcastle. That's the responsibility we have now, that's my main focus and that costs enough energy. Energy I don't want to waste in partying or celebrating the signing. Save that for after the season.

Did you watch the Aston Villa match last night - they could have quite a significant impact on what Brighton could achieve this season...

I watched all four games that were running because there was also a German team involved. I think Freiburg made history. Great job. Then, of course I also watched Aston Villa, but I also watched the other two games. So it was a mix – I saw everything.

In terms of team news for this match, how's Mats Wieffer doing?

Mats Wieffer was substituted off during the first half of last weekend's defeat to Tottenham. 📸 by James Boardman.

Mats Wieffer will be touch and go for this game. I'm not sure if he can make it as he has a small ankle issue, it's nothing serious and he will be assessed. Diego Gomez will be assessed. We have James Milner and Solly March back. They will definitely be an option.

Last week you seemed quite confident that Diego Gomez would be available for this game. Has something changed there?

I think it's important that we understand that we can't risk his health. We also have responsibility for the players and we have to make the right decision.

Captain Lewis Dunk isn't starting at the moment. He came on in the previous match. How has he been in training and do you see the Wolves game as maybe the opportunity for him to come back into the starting 11?

There's always an opportunity for my captain to come back into the starting 11. I think against Newcastle we made this decision because in the time when Lewis wasn't playing, he couldn't fully train - we take care of the fitness of each player individually and we try to make the right decision on what is best for the team. But now he had one more week where he could train, so that's a positive and let's see how we play tomorrow.

There's been plenty of positive discussions around Carlos Baleba recently. Has he taken slightly longer to return to maybe the level you wanted than expected?

Carlos Baleba has made 109 appearances in all competitions for Albion. 📸 by James Boardman.

It’s better that it takes longer than it never happening. I'm really happy with how he's performing at the moment. I always said we had to be patient with him. We have to give him the environment he needs, the environment of feeling safety and he trained well in the last weeks. He made a step up, so we're happy that he's getting back to his highest level.

Wolves haven't won any of their last 19 away Premier League matches. They're already relegated. What threats do you see from them that they could possess tomorrow?

Their results are one perspective, but on the other side you have to see how they're playing, how they are structured, how they're organised. They have really good coach. They always seem to have a really good plan – structured, organised. We expect a team that is very disciplined, that is defending really good in a low block. They don't give away many chances and they still have individual quality. They still have a lot of players who can hurt you, no matter if it's a transition, no matter if it's a set-piece. The biggest challenge we have now is to bounce back and to prove that we can bounce back from this defeat against Newcastle, try to reach our highest level regarding managing the small margins well. I think it's also about reducing the mistakes. In the last games we made too many easy mistakes and if we do this again, then Wolverhampton has the quality to punish us - we definitely have to reduce this. But if we keep reaching our highest level, if we keep playing like we played in some phases against Newcastle then we have a good chance.

Looking at the table, expectation will be high playing a team that's already been relegated. How patient do both your players and your supporters have to be for this one?

I used exactly this word at the beginning of the week. It's about being patient. It's about not trying to force it. It's about being very disciplined against the ball, not thinking ‘now Wolverhampton are coming, they didn't win one of their last 19 away games, that means we have automatically won, we can attack and we can play without any discipline’. I think it's very important that we first of all work hard against the ball, be really disciplined against the ball, have a really good intensity against the ball, a close distance to each other and be very compact. That's crucial because keeping a clean sheet will help in the last three games to win games. Then of course we need to create chances against a low block. We need to have a lot of numbers in the opponent's box to increase the chance of scoring, but without losing the focus on the rest defence. It will be a game of being patient, a game of defending well, of keeping a clean sheet and of course trying to be very good in attacking the opponent's box with a lot of numbers.

Some of your squad have had to be patient as well because they haven't been playing, the likes of Maxim De Cuyper, Yasin Ayari. What have you said to them in terms of what could be a big summer for them going forward as well, the fact that they haven't really been playing regularly?

Yasin Ayari has made 27 Premier League appearances so far this campaign. 📸 by James Boardman.

We have a lot of availability. That means competition and therefore they have to use every training session to prove that I'm wrong leaving them out of the squad. I see these two as really good players because they have a great character. They show great reactions. They of course are frustrated. It is normal that players are frustrated, but they always do what they can do and that's training hard, that's trying to be their best version every day. I'm really pleased with how they're reacting to their situations because I know it's not easy to not play. But I also say in certain ways to be successful you need to put your ego to one side and get behind the team, because I always emphasise that individuals never win anything. It's always the team who wins everything and therefore we really have to focus on this. Everyone has to accept their role. Everyone has to put the team first. Everyone has to understand that if this team is successful, then they can shine as an individual. Regarding these two players, I'm really happy with how they behave, how they react and let's see if they get a chance tomorrow.

Just on the contract, you mentioned about the footballing reasons why you might want to stay and extend your time here. How do you feel about your environment, not just here at the training ground, but in Sussex and how you've engaged? Do you feel like you're fully immersed into the county, the city?

I feel very settled and a big part was definitely the football side. But another part was this connection towards the city, the connection towards the supporters, the connection towards all the people who identify themselves with the Seagulls' colours. So I feel very settled. I feel that it’s a really big family here, no matter if you are in the club or outside of the club, the people are really welcoming. The people respect you. The people are always there to support and that's something that I really appreciate. I spent a long time in my previous club, St. Pauli. I was there for four years and I think one of the main reasons was because I felt so settled and I could really identify myself with the city and I feel the same here. That's why it's definitely also a big part why I extended my contract.

So what's the best thing about living here?

The best thing about living here is, for me, the seafront and seeing people enjoying their life, especially when the sun is out. You can do so many things. You can play paddle and tennis, beach volleyball, basketball. When I'm running there, when I'm jogging or walking along the seafront, I see the joy of the people. I see older people playing basketball. I see young people playing padel. I see the different cultures come together and that's something that I really love. I love people enjoying their life. I love people connecting with each other. No matter if you're old, young, if you are female, male, that's something which is so nice in the city, that everyone is respected and it's very multicultural. That's something that I really love seeing.