Every word from Fabian Hurzeler ahead of FA Cup tie against Liverpool

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The head coach will be aiming to guide his team into the fifth round at Anfield on Saturday.

2026-02-13T17:30+00:00

Fabian Hurzeler's team beat Manchester United in the previous round of the FA Cup. 📸 by James Boardman.

Fabian Hurzeler talked about his side's strong performance at Villa Park, as well as squad availability ahead of Saturday's Emirates FA Cup game at Liverpool, in his press conference on Thursday.

It's been a busy 24 hours in the Premier League with two managers being sacked in Thomas Frank and Sean Dyche. I just wanted to get your reaction and thoughts.

First of all I feel sorry for them because I met them when we competed against each other. I met them also away from the football pitch and they're great people. But on the other side, we all know it's part of this business. You can only control the controllables. You can't control all the other things that matter to get the right results. But I'm a hundred per cent sure that they will find new, great opportunities. I feel for them and I wish them all the best.

On the flip side, we're here at St. George's Park and we've had the news that Thomas Tuchel has signed a contract extension. As a fellow German head coach, what was your reaction when you saw that?

I am really happy for him. And I think also the English players I have in my team and all the English staff are quite happy, so it shows that he's doing a really good job and that he has really integrated well into the different culture of football. They all hope that he brings the World Cup to this country and I wish him all the best. He's a role model for me and therefore I'm very pleased.

Against Villa on Wednesday there seemed to be a stark contrast between that and the Crystal Palace game. Do you think that performance has perhaps quietened in some of your critics?

In football we definitely need to focus on the results. I think the fans deserve results. We all want to get the results we need. The result we need is a win, definitely. But on the other side, I think it's very important to control the controllables and we did a lot of things right on Wednesday. We controlled the small margins, we played well, we defended well. We created chances. In the first half it was not our best game, but we kept the game tight and then in the second half we had enough chances to win it. In the end, the small margins and the set piece made the difference. On the one side it’s very important to focus on performances and to focus on the things you can control. On the other side we all know this game is a game of results, especially for me as a head coach.

We are all convinced that if we keep doing the things we did on Wednesday, if we keep having these performances then we are all convinced that we will get the results we all need and deserve, especially our fans deserve it because their support yesterday was incredible. For 90 minutes they were there for us. They helped us. They pushed us and they can definitely be frustrated about the recent results. But they were amazing and therefore I was very thankful and hope that we can give them something back on Saturday.

Do you feel any pressure at all from perhaps anyone at the top of the club?

No, I feel no pressure. I only feel the pressure I put on myself to prepare the team the best I can do, to be there for them and to improve them every day. That's the most pressure I feel, because I always want to be the best version of myself, to try to be there for the club, try to be there for the fans, for the team, for the staff.

The reality is that it's not an easy situation, but in these tough times you really see how you act with each other, how you treat each other, how you support each other. I really feel supported. I really feel the belief from the club and now it's about me, it's about us to give something back.

When you're going through challenges you learn a lot about your players, I just wonder what have you learned?

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Battling Albion were edged out 1-0 by a late Aston Villa goal. Club Photographer James Boardman captured the action.

I knew before that the players have great personalities, great characters, but especially how they stick together on Wednesday, how they played football, how they defended against the ball, how they behaved throughout the last 2-3 days. It's incredible because also for them it's not been an easy time. It's easy to point the finger at each other, but I didn't see that. I really see a team that comes together, that chose to create togetherness, and I think that's the main thing to get out of these situations, that where we keep focusing on is this group is full of togetherness.

James Milner equalled the Premier League appearance record on Wednesday night. You've spoken a lot about him being a role model. It's such a huge achievement and as you're traveling to Anfield this weekend, it's quite a big week for him…

The moment @JamesMilner equalled Gareth Barry's all-time Premier League appearances record! 💫 pic.twitter.com/Hm41gdLID2
— Brighton & Hove Albion (@OfficialBHAFC) February 12, 2026

It’s a big week for him. But I think I speak for James when I say that he will always put the team first and for him the success of the club, the success of the team is the highest priority. So it was a very special moment for him. But he puts the team first. He was a role model again regarding his discipline, regarding his effort. And his main thing is always that he wants for the club to be successful. It’s not just at his previous clubs, at Brighton he always tries to do what is best for the club, what is best for the individual players. So it's a pleasure to work with him and we are all happy to have him in our squad, not only as a player, but also as a person. It's definitely a big week for him with a lot of big things and a lot of great memories he can create. But for him the main thing is that we as a club are successful.

It's been a quick turnaround in terms of games. I just wanted to get the team news?

There’s no new injury concerns. Mats Wieffer will be back, so that's a positive one. But today it was calm, so maybe now we’ll always come after the game to St. George’s Park because no injury concerns is quite positive and we didn't have it so much in this season!

Jan Paul van Van Hecke came off yesterday. Is he ok to start on Saturday?

Mats Wieffer and Jan Paul van Hecke are both available to play at Anfield. 📸 by James Boardman.

Yes, he should be okay to start again.

Is Yasin Ayari still missing?

Yasin is still missing. He is doing rehab, but he's getting closer. We expect him to be back soon.

Do you feel like you’ve missed Mats Wieffer in recent months?

He’s a big player who has a big impact on our game. He has a big personality as well. So definitely, we missed him and we are all happy that he's back now.

In terms of the squad rotation with three games in a week how difficult is that bearing in mind the nature of the opposition you've got in this FA cup tie?

It has to be a good mixture between bringing in fresh legs on the pitch, but also sticking with the players who did a great job against Villa. There will be a mixture, but our goal is to reach the next round. Our goal is to win this game, so we will put our best 11 on the pitch.

What's it been like at St. George's Park? I know you mentioned it there. Is it nice to have a change of scenery?

I grew up in the mountains. I grew up in a nice landscape, so I see a lot of great landscape here and there’s a lot of calmness. You hear the birds singing. You wake up and you see a lot of green trees and forest. I’ve really enjoyed being here because you can really focus as there's not a lot of distractions. Of course in the media at the moment we get a lot of noise regarding our performances, but here we can really collect energy together to give us a push for the next games.

What can you take from your last win in this competition against Manchester United?

It's definitely a feeling that we want to have again because it wasn't so long ago that we beat Manchester United. We will see a lot of players on the pitch who faced Manchester United a few weeks ago. The players still have an incredible quality and it's very important that we never forget and never lose the belief in our own quality. That's also what we need for Saturday.

Liverpool have had a few injuries this season too. What do you make of the form that they're in at the moment?

They played well yesterday against Sunderland. They have some injury concerns, but they still have an incredible squad. We will face a world class team with world class individual players. We have to face them with a lot of courage. We have to believe that we can go there and win this game.