Club news

Hughton's Respect For Complimentary Mourinho

By Kieran Cleeves • 19 March 2018

Brighton & Hove Albion manager Chris Hughton showed his respect for opposite number Jose Mourinho, who again praised the Seagulls for their performance at Old Trafford, despite exiting the Emirates FA Cup on Saturday evening.

The United boss expressed his belief in Albion’s chances of remaining in the Premier League this season, and Hughton spoke fondly of the 55-year-old, before talking about his high-pressure role with the Red Devils.

He said, “If he feels that [Albion will stay up], then it’s probably based on the two performances here. We've lost both of them, but we’ve come out with a lot of credit from our performances here.

“You’ll never get anyone saying something detrimental about Jose - he’s an outstanding manager.

“Whenever I’ve been in his presence, he’s always been very good company. He’s always spoke really well about us when we’ve played here.

“Jose has managed at some big, big clubs, and at all of those clubs, there is pressure, it comes with the territory.

“But he has a wonderful way of dealing with that pressure, and when you manage these sorts of clubs, you’ve got to be used to that.”

Beram Kayal remained in Albion’s starting line-up alongside Davy Propper - in the absence of midfield regular Dale Stephens - and Hughton was pleased with their performances after last week's defeat at Goodison Park.

“I thought Davy played really well in that role, and I thought Beram was excellent as well. I don’t think Beram had one of his better games at Everton, but that’s part and parcel of the game.

“When you don’t do well, you’re very conscious of wanting to do better in the next one, and I thought he was really good."