Brighton & Hove Albion manager Chris Hughton sat down with the media on Friday afternoon to look ahead to the side’s game with Liverpool on Sunday.
The Seagulls travel to Anfield in their final game of the Premier League season, and the boss reflected on a number of topics ahead of the contest.
LIVERPOOL
"We have to think about how we can play ourselves into the game and nullify their threats.
"They need at least a point from the game and I’m expecting to face a very strong side – the Champions League Final is in a few weeks and they still need a result.
"I expect the Liverpool we’ve seen all season with the fantastic attacking threat that they have. It will be a hard day for us and we’ll have to defend very well as a team.
"These challenges are ones we’ve worked very hard for – this game means something to us despite us being safe. Away games at the likes of Liverpool are quite daunting because you know what can happen if you get it wrong, but more so they are also very exciting to be involved in and challenging, because we know we will have to be at a good level to get something.
"We’ll have a group of players who haven’t played at Anfield before and these are the ones you look forward to as a team."
MANCHESTER CITY GAME
"We look back on Wednesday quite positively – we stayed in the game and at 2-1 we had a very good chance to equalise.
"Whether or not that opportunity would have altered the nature of the game I’m not so sure because they would have still had possession and chances.
"As a team, they have been outstanding this season and to have so many positives to take from the contest was very pleasing for me.
"We conceded a poor goal and if you give the ball away in key areas against the best sides in the country, then they will punish you.
"These last two matches are the biggest challenges that we could have had, both Manchester City and Liverpool are in fantastic form and have been strong all season – you have to make sure you compete and stay in these games to try and get something from them."
ALL THREE PROMOTED SIDES STAYING UP
"If you had said that at the start of the season, then it would have surprised me because of general averages.
"It doesn’t happen so often but what we have had this season is a top six that have been very strong, and they are teams who play in Europe often.
"Outside of that, the teams that would have usually been pushing them have changed somewhat, it’s a more open division from the teams outside of the top six and that’s probably helped everybody."
LONG-TERM OBJECTIVES
"The next step for us will always be making sure we stay in the division – that has to be the aim. This is our first season in the league and so we are learning still, we’re trying to improve as much as we can, and we will try to add to the squad in the summer.
"More importantly it’s about stability and what you have to do is be stable in the league before you look to take bigger steps.
"We have to be guarded because established sides can still struggle – I don’t think anyone would have predicted the three sides who have been relegated, and at the same time, I don’t think many would have tipped others down the bottom to be in the positions they have been this year."
Fans can watch Chris Hughton’s full look ahead to tomorrow’s game with Liverpool on Seagulls TV above and supporters can sign up to the service by clicking here.