Brighton & Hove Albion manager Chris Hughton spoke to the media ahead of Saturday’s Premier League meeting with Fulham at the Amex Stadium, and here’s what came out of the pre-match press conference at the American Express Elite Football Performance Centre.
MIDFIELD OPTIONS
“There’s good competition between [Yves] Bissouma and the midfield players that we’ve got. You’d like to think there’s good competition throughout the whole squad.
“We’re a little bit lighter than we’d like to be, due to the injuries, but that’s why we brought in the players we did over the summer.
“What we have with Bissouma is a young lad who’s a very talented individual. We saw his qualities in midweek, as we did on Saturday against Liverpool.
“Sometimes it takes a little while to adjust to the language and the way that we play. Can Bissouma and Pascal both play in the same team? Yes, they can.
“What we have in that midfield group of players is different ways of playing. There are different combinations that we can have, and we’ll certainly use those combinations throughout the season.”
FULHAM FORTUNES
“They’re a side that obviously spent big over the summer. They’ve recruited really well, and our recruitment department would be well aware of all of the players they brought in.
“They’ve been unfortunate in two of their games. I saw them play at Wembley against Tottenham and they were very much in the game.
“They showed their quality in the last game [v Burnley]. They’re a team that can score goals and haven't changed their style too much from last season.
“It gives them that real good continuity in everything that they do, and you know the type of game they want to play. I’ve been impressed with their signings and they’ve been very good value.”
TEAM LEADERS
“We’ve had three captains already this season, and if we count midweek, we’ve actually had four. Kayal was captain midweek, so we’ve had four games and four captains this season.
“I think that’s not a bad thing, because what it does do is share that responsibility around the squad and gives them that feeling of what we think about their leadership qualities.
“If you haven’t been captain for your club and you’re given that opportunity, then I think it’s a great honour. But we all know Bruno is our captain and Lewis Dunk is our vice captain."
PREMIER LEAGUE LEVELS
“You’re always very wary and conscious, because I’ve seen three teams come up - two in particular have spent big money - and I think this will be a more challenging season than last season.
“Every team is conscious after Stoke going down last season, West Brom going down and Swansea going down - arguably three teams we didn’t expect to get relegated.
“Everybody is wary of how difficult this league is. At the moment we’re on the back of two good performances, and what we’ve learned is that our levels have to be like that to get results."
Fans can watch Chris Hughton's look ahead to Saturday's game against Fulham at the Amex Stadium above on Seagulls TV - and fans can sign up to the service by clicking here.