Ryan: We’re confident of making more progress

Maty Ryan reckons the momentum Albion had at the end of last season can be carried into the new Premier League campaign.

The Seagulls picked up 12 points from their last nine games after lockdown, despite what was a particularly tricky run of fixtures.

Victories over Arsenal, Norwich City and Burnley helped Graham Potter’s side end with a record points tally in the Premier League.

Ryan said, “Finishing with a record points tally is probably the best demonstration of progress. If you keep raising the bar and beating the records that we have set it’s a good indication that there’s improvement being made.

“We had to get used to a lot of changes with Chris Hughton leaving and Graham and his coaching staff coming in.

“That was a big hurdle and some teams haven’t been able to overcome that sort of obstacle in the past. So it’s a nice feeling having made those changes last year and, given the other challenges that we have faced like Covid-19, to have three successive years in the Premier League. Nobody can take away from us. It’s a feat we can all be proud of.”

The arrival of Adam Lallana and Joel Veltman only bodes well for the future according to the 28-year-old.

“There’s a real optimism around the group at the moment,” Ryan added.

“We’ve added Adam Lallana and Joel Veltman who bring a wealth of experience having played at the highest level. I am sure they are going to make us stronger, as will anyone else we bring in.

“With the momentum we have everyone is pretty positive that we can improve on last season and we’ve got a lot of players in the squad who have got good experience playing in this league. I have played over 100 games and there are a few others that are close to it. Those things are all steps forward.”