Club news

Duffy: Positive Form Has Come At A Good Time

By Kieran Cleeves • 10 February 2018

Brighton & Hove Albion defender Shane Duffy revealed the confidence flowing through the team ahead of their game against Stoke City at the bet365 Stadium this afternoon, as well as his excitement for the final 12 games of the season.

The Seagulls returned to winning ways in the Premier League last weekend, beating West Ham United at the Amex Stadium, and Duffy spoke about the good feeling generated from securing a positive string of results.

He said, “It was great to play our music afterwards, it was a good feeling. It’s what you play football for, that feeling on a Saturday or Sunday when you wake up and have your three points.

“It’s a great time to start hitting a little bit of form - we’ve obviously had a nice little cup run as well, a nice win [against West Ham] and a tough point away to Southampton.

“Now we’ve got another tough, but winnable, game coming up. It’s a good part of the season, because it’s where the most important things happen.

“I’m looking forward to the run-in, seeing where we’ll be and how we deal with it. It’s a big step for most of us who have never been here, but the lads are confident.”

Chris Hughton’s side sit three points ahead of the Potters, who occupy the final relegation spot, and Duffy believes Albion have held their own during the club’s first season in England’s top flight.

“It’s been good - a lot of teams expected us to be a lot lower in the league. A lot of pundits wrote us off early doors, after not having the best of starts.

“We’ve surprised quite a lot of people with the way that we play. We went through a bad spell of form, not picking up results, but we’ve bounced back again.

“The manager is quite happy, the fans seem happy and the players are getting into a nice little run now.

“Hopefully we can take that into the end of the season, which is probably the most important part.”

The Republic of Ireland international played under Stoke manager Paul Lambert during his time at Blackburn Rovers, and he believes the Scotsman has helped the Potters turn a corner since arriving last month.

“It will be great to see him again - he did a lot for me, even during his short spell. It was great working under him and it was unfortunate when he left.

“I really enjoyed playing under him and I think he’s a really good appointment for Stoke.

“It looks as if he’s turned things around a little bit, but hopefully on Saturday it doesn't work.

“They’ve probably got all the talent in the squad but they weren't fighting for each other - it now looks like they’ve got that back.”