Brighton & Hove Albion manager Chris Hughton expressed his admiration for today’s opposite number Jose Mourinho, as the experienced Portuguese boss visits the Amex Stadium with his Manchester United side.
Hughton and Mourinho shared the touchline three times last season, as Albion met the Red Devils across league and cup competitions, and the Seagulls boss praised the 55-year-old for his input towards English football.
He said, “The top managers, and Jose is absolutely one of those, are top managers for a reason. Managers like myself would have nothing but respect for the way they get their teams playing.
“They’re high-profile managers and they have to manage their business, players and club in the best way they see.
“It’s about what results they get, and managers like Jose get far more good results than bad results. I have nothing but admiration for Jose.
“On a personal note, I’ve met Jose on a number of occasions when we’ve played against them, and for somebody that came into the English game, he’s a manager that’s always spoken well about it.
“He’s somebody that’s a great supporter of the League Manager’s Association and plays a big role in what we do.”
Albion take on United before also facing Liverpool, Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester City over the next five league matches - but Hughton reflected on last season’s arguably-as-tough end to the season.
“If I looked at the end of last season, we went into the Manchester United game as our third to last game of the season, and at that stage we hadn’t secured Premier League status.
“We had to play Manchester United at home, Manchester City away and then Liverpool away - so it doesn’t come much tougher or daunting than that.
“If you asked me if I’d rather be in this position at the start of the season, to where we were at the end of the last season, then I’d rather be where we are now.”
Bruno will be missing for the Seagulls this afternoon, meaning Lewis Dunk will step in as captain, and Hughton commented on the defender’s noticeable improvement over recent seasons.
“For those that have followed us for quite some time, I think you will have seen the maturity in his game improve.
“He had a couple of seasons where he picked up a few bookings, and a few parts of his game needed that little bit more experience and maturity - but we’ve seen that change in him.
“That’s gone along with his development in the game. Being vice captain and captain when Bruno is out - that certainly adds to that.”
Fans can watch Chris Hughton's look ahead to Sunday's game against Manchester United at the Amex Stadium above on Seagulls TV - and fans can sign up to the service by clicking here.