Brighton & Hove Albion manager Chris Hughton met the media on Thursday afternoon ahead of the Emirates FA Cup fifth round tie with Coventry City at the weekend.
The boss discussed their opponents and the man at the helm, giving a debut to the club’s record signing, the competition as a whole and the rotation opportunities it provides with his squad.
COVENTRY CITY
"We’ve watched them and we know the progress they’ve made to get to this stage of the competition so far. They had a good win against Stoke City and you can’t take that lightly.
"We’ve all played in games with underdogs and we’ve got recent history ourselves – we know what can happen and we have to guard against that.
"This will mean a lot to them, as a club, they’ve had some difficult periods. It’s a club I know well – I’ve played and coached against them."
MARK ROBINS
"Mark Robins has done a fantastic job there. It’s not easy when you’re at a club that have drifted down the leagues – you’ve got to assemble a squad that will get you back up.
"They have an opportunity to get promoted but it’s not easy at that level – I know Mark well and he’s done a wonderful job there so far."
JURGEN LOCADIA
"It’s good to have Jurgen [Locadia] back, he’s trained well over the last week and a half and he’s fully fit.
"The reason we brought him in was to help us between now and the end of the campaign, and so it will be good for him to get games under his belt and improve his fitness levels as well.
"I don’t think there’s pressure on him – the pressure is on the team to make sure we get enough results to stay in this division.
"We brought players in during the summer who’ve fitted in well, some take longer than others, but we’ve got really good options in the forward areas and it’s up to me how I use those and get the best out of them.
"We just want him to settle in the squad and get goals for us – but he has to work hard for the team as well. He’s already scored goals this season and we hope that can continue here.
"He will start on Saturday, he’s been injured so he’s a player who now has a good opportunity to get back involved. He’s been fully cleared from that and this will raise his fitness level and integrate into the side in a game as opposed to training."
FA CUP RUN
"The biggest incentive of the competition is to keep progressing in the tournament.
"We've been given a winnable home time - some may look at it as us being favourites and we’re very conscious that the competitions springs up surprises.
"We know Coventry City will fight very hard at the weekend but we’re delighted to still be in the competition and we want that to continue."
UTILISING THE SQUAD
"It helps the squad, especially whenyou’re a player that’s training well every day and is not always getting the opportunities to play..
"Some will miss out and it’s been good for us to be able to use the squad – we’ve got good numbers and competition.
"The players who aren’t getting much Premier League action can keep their levels up and feel a big part of the group – and credit to them, because we’ve been good in the games so far."
Supporters can watch Chris Hughton's full press conference ahead of this weekend's Emirates FA Cup tie on Seagulls TV - Albion fans can subscribe to the service by clicking here.