Rusk: The Players Are Enjoying Their Football

Brighton & Hove Albion under-23 coach Simon Rusk highlighted the enjoyment his players are having on the football field at the moment, following their second 5-1 league victory in the space of week.

The Seagulls backed up their 5-1 win over West Bromwich Albion with a repeat of the scoreline against Stoke City last night at the Checkatrade.com Stadium, and Rusk praised his team for once again showing their quality in front of goal.

He said, “There were aspects of the game that we’d want to polish up on, but I didn’t want to focus on any negative things, because I thought our offensive play was fantastic.

“In the last two games we’ve scored some quality goals, with a different variation as well. Some with good passing patterns, and some with good individual quality.

“They’re enjoying their football and they’re focused. It’s always nice to win games and we’ve spoken about the standards that we set before every game.

“All the lads have to do is try to perform to those standards each match, and at the minute it’s rewarding them with some very good wins.”

Albion’s play-off spot in the Premier League 2 Division 2 was secured on Sunday afternoon, but Monday evening’s win over the Potters confirmed that Middlesborough would be their opponents in the semi-finals.

A win for Rusk’s side at Wolverhampton Wanderers next Monday would guarantee a home tie against Boro, and the Albion coach urged his players to maintain their high standards to secure home advantage.

“We’re in a good place at the minute, but we won’t be taking any of these upcoming matches for granted. The lads have got to work hard.

“Good performances don’t just come to you, you’ve got to go to them - and that will be the message to the players over the next few games.”

“It’s a big incentive going into the Wolves game. It’s going to be tough at Molineux, they’re a good team with good individuals.

“But of course we’d like to have home advantage in the play-offs, so fingers crossed we can get the result we need."