Speaking ahead of Saturday’s 3-0 victory over Watford at Vicarage Road, Ashworth praised the exisiting infrastructure on the south coast and challenged the club to build on the foundations that have been laid so far.
He said, “One of the reasons I joined the club was because of Tony and Paul [Barber].
“We have a fantastic training ground and a fantastic stadium with a new vision to match that, and the aim of getting the club into the top ten over the next few years.
“It will be tough because there’s a lot of good teams in this division and lots of good players.
“Hopefully we can get an infrastructure behind us in all areas and the academy to support Graham [Potter] in any way we can to push on to the next level.”
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Ashworth, who joined the Seagulls back in February, also praised the exploits of the club’s academy and women’s sides since his arrival.
He cited the various loan moves members of the under-23 group have made for the new season as an indication of the progress the football club continues to make at all levels.
“John Morling has done a really good job with the academy and I think they are ready to push to the next level,” he continued
“One of the things fans will have hopefully seen during this window is that a lot of our younger players are going out in some really good loan moves.
“We have players on loan in big divisions and the step between where they’re plying their trade at the moment and our first team in the Premier League is getting smaller as a result.
“We have a lot of good young players still with us who will hopefully enjoy an exciting season, and the same goes for Hope Powell and her side too.
“They did really well last year, and I know how well organised she’ll have the team with a couple of exciting new recruits for them as well.”
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Graham Potter’s first Premier League game in charge brought about an impressive victory in Hertfordshire last weekend, but Ashworth was keen to highlight the fiercely competitive nature of the division.
“Every club in the league wants to be in the top half and higher, there are a lot of clubs who have a big financial backing and are trying to do the same thing.
“Some are more established than us, so we will have to work smartly.
“There will also be times when perhaps it doesn’t go so well, but it’s only right we set our targets high and really try to pull out all the stops to become a top ten Premier League team.”