The Seagulls host West Ham United in the Premier League International Cup at The People’s Pension Stadium tonight to kick off a run of six games from November into December, and Rusk says it’s a fixture list that they can all embrace.
He said, “It’s one we’re looking forward to, and it’s nice to have a game so quickly after the Liverpool match. We’ve got a tough period coming up, and we’ve done unbelievably well to win our Leasing.com Trophy group and that gives us another game, which is what we want. We want games and want to be tested.
“The nice thing about this period is that we’ve got a nice blend of games, with Newport County at the Amex next week and then the International Cup fixtures against Valencia and West Ham.
“We also have a Sussex Senior Cup game in the schedule too, and then Arsenal and Wolves, before we wrap up our league campaign for the year - there are a lot of games and we’ll need to be ready for it and use everyone in our squad."
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This evening’s opponents sit top of Premier League 2 Division 2 ahead of tonight’s contest in the cup - winning 10 and drawing one of their matches so far this season - Rusk knows they’ll provide a stern test tonight.
“We’re looking forward to it, as West Ham are going well in their league at the moment. We know it’s going to be a tough game because they have some talented players, as do we. We’re looking forward to it and we’ll have to be at our best to get anything out of it,” he continued.
“Confidence and momentum play a part. From the outside looking in, they appear to be a team that’s got a lot of momentum, but we’re confident going into any game, we certainly won’t be taking the fact that they’re in a lower tier into any consideration whatsoever.
“We know they’re a good team with talented individuals, and we’ve got to be at our best.”