Hughton: It Was A Good Workout

Despite losing to AFC Wimbledon this afternoon, Brighton & Hove Albion manager Chris Hughton highlighted the positive aspects of his team’s outing at the Cherry Red Records Stadium, as his players had another workout in pre-season.

The Seagulls conceded twice in the first half before Oliver Norwood’s penalty which halved the deficit after the break, and Hughton admitted his side were made to pay for their slow start in south-west London in a 2-1 defeat.

He said, “It was a good workout, but we probably didn’t turn up for the first half an hour and made life very difficult for ourselves.

“It showed the levels - they’re a very well organised team here and we expected a hard game. By the time we got into the game, it was going to be hard to get the result we wanted.

“We had some very good chances and the better chances - three really good opportunities.

“But as regards to a workout, we managed to play some of the younger lads as well, and that’s exactly what I wanted.”

Albion made nine changes against the Dons, as Hughton fielded a mixture of first team and under-23 players, and the Seagulls boss commented on the focus around providing his players with minutes on the pitch.

“At this stage, generally we’re looking to get 60 minutes from our players. We’ve got two games midweek and we’ll be looking to build them up to 70 minutes. Then it’s about getting as many 90’s as you can.

“It’s never rocket science, but you always want to get to the levels needed come the start of the season.

“Sometimes you think you’re not quite there and then you play the next game and it’s completely different. But today was some good work to get under their belts.

Jurgen Locadia and Shane Duffy were withdrawn either side of the break due to injury, and Hughton discussed the knocks that both players sustained during Albion’s third pre-season friendly.

“They were both very precautionary. We tell the players to come off if they feel any niggles or anything they’re not comfortable with - then we deal with them.

“We’ll assess both of them and we’re hoping that both of them will be available for midweek, but we won’t know until tomorrow.”