Potter: Another good test

The head coach praised the application and commitment of his players against Scott Parker’s side, especially in a first half which saw Pascal Gross fire the Seagulls in front.

He said, “It was another good game and a good test for us against a side who are probably slightly ahead of us in terms of the amount of games they’ve played in pre-season.

“They’ve played a few more teams and this is only our second match and I think that affected us in the second half a little bit.

“In the first half I saw a lot of good things, in particular some things we’ve been speaking about over the last few weeks, and that’s a good sign.

“The application and effort was great and there’s lots to go forward with, but clearly we have to improve as well.”

Potter also spoke about the progression of the group during pre-season so far, highlighting the positives and emphasising his desire to see the squad continue to improve.

“We’re three weeks into it and you have to see how the players take the ideas on; I’m really happy with how they’ve gone about their work,” he continued.

“We’re in a new process and you want to build an understanding of how we want to play.

“As a squad, at this stage, we’re into a brand-new start with a lot of positives but also lots to do as well, the group have been great but we know we need to carry on improving.”

Both the contest in Hampshire and Friday night’s win over Crawley Town saw the inclusion of a number of the club’s under-23 squad, and the boss says he’s pleased with what he’s seen from those individuals to date.

“We’ve had some younger players involved in the group recently and they’ve really impressed as a group.

“They’ve shown a really good attitude, but we also know this is the Premier League and we have a lot of good players here.

“It’s not so easy to break in but their performances have been encouraging, that needs to carry on and we need to keep working with them to give them opportunities to play.”