Brighton & Hove Albion manager Chris Hughton highlighted the immense pride his team should take from their recent run of results, as their 1-0 victory against Wolverhampton sealed their third consecutive Premier League success.
The same scoreline saw Albion overcome West Ham United and Newcastle United in recent weeks, and Hughton commented on the significance of taking nine points from nine — something the club hadn't achieved since 1981.
He said, “That was our most resilient performance since last week! We would prefer to not make a habit of having to defend so well.
“But it’s certainly a trait that brings the best out of a team and I think you can use that.
“Wolves probably didn’t have that real clear, open-goal chance, but there were a lot of balls into the box and shots on target. I think we can play better and we had to defend very well.
“It’s difficult to get two back-to-back wins, but to get three wins and three clean sheets is even more difficult for a club like us at this level.
“We’ve got to be able to use the good things from that and try to be even better in our next games.”
After recovering from concussion, Albion striker Glenn Murray fired his 100th goal for the club to become the post-war leading goalscorer, and Hughton praised the forward’s continued commitment to achieve.
“We did everything right during the week, there’s a particular protocol that you have to go through and we absolutely wouldn't have risked anything.
“But Glenn would always want to play. He’s enjoying his football at the moment and is scoring goals at the highest level.
“All of that is credit to him because of the way he conducts himself, looks after himself and the way he trains.
“You can’t reach his age and play at this level without making those sorts of sacrifices, and that’s exactly what he’s done.”
It was also a third clean sheet in succession for Hughton’s team, and the Albion boss highlighted the collective effort that frustrated Wolves and provided a platform to secure all three points.
“We’re certainly on the back of two games where our back four have been tested and our goalkeeper has done everything right when we’ve needed him to.
“The fact that we were 1-0 up and they were pushing a lot of bodies forward, it meant there were always going to be moments where our offensive players would need to do a job for the team.
“There was a great reaction from the crowd any time a forward player went back and did a defensive job for the side.
“I’d prefer if Glenn didn’t have to do that, but it was needed and it enabled us to get the win.”