Hughton Praises Albion's Attacking Options

Brighton & Hove Albion manager Chris Hughton assessed his attacking options after Saturday’s 3-1 win against West Ham United - praising both Jose Izquierdo and Glenn Murray for their quality in front of goal.

Murray and Izquierdo both hit the back of the net against the Hammers at the London Stadium in October and on Saturday at the Amex, and Hughton commented on their contributions to the team.

He said, “Izquierdo is a natural wide player that is now playing in a harder division, he has shown some really good parts of his game since he arrived, in games and in training.

“That type of player is always going to be in and out - we want him to produce those moments and he is certainly capable of scoring goals, as his record has shown in recent seasons.

“Murray has a knack of scoring goals, whether he plays well or not, but firstly it’s about his contribution to the team.

“What we’ve done is bring in lots of good offensive options to give us the competition that we thought we needed.

“Murray is playing really well for us, but it’s good to put pressure on players in the side and on the bench.”

Hughton highlighted the positive form David Moyes’s team had shown before their trip to the Amex, and felt Izquierdo’s stunning strike changed the atmosphere inside the stadium.

“The first time we played West Ham, their form wasn’t so good and you could say it wasn’t a bad time to play them.

“It was different this time because they’ve been on a good run, they've been very solid, but sometimes these games take a special goal to break the deadlock.

“Our second goal not only gave us the lead but it lifted the stadium. When you get that type of atmosphere it can lift the lads onto another level of performance.”

The victory was Albion’s sixth of the season in the Premier League, and with just 12 games remaining, Hughton stressed that he just focuses on winning as many games as possible.

“Whenever I’m asked about the amount of wins we need, I must admit that it’s not something I think about. All I think about is getting as many three pointers as we can.

“In the run-in towards the end of the season, it will be the teams that get three pointers that manage to get away from the bottom three, and that is why I’m so delighted we managed to another three points.”