In six months as head coach, Liam Rosenior’s Hull City have forged a clear identity as a possession-based team.
And the former Albion defender happily admits that the template he is trying to align his Championship team too is the one being followed by his former club.
To say Liam, 38, is a big fan of the way Roberto De Zerbi sets up his Albion team and their style of play would be putting it mildly.
“Brighton are playing world class football under an outstanding coach,” he said. “They are the most exciting team in the Premier League in my opinion, playing the best football.”
Rosenior played for Albion between 2015-18 including a handful of games in the Premier League, so he is well qualified to talk about the transformation in the club and some of his former teammates, like Lewis Dunk, Solly March, Pascal Gross and Jason Steele, under De Zerbi.
“Dunky is the best centre-half in the country now the way he can bring the ball out of defence and start attacks. Our centre-halves at Hull watch loads of clips of Dunky to see how he plays out because that’s what I want them to do as well.
"And watching the way someone like Solly has played this season actually makes me really proud, both of him as a former teammate and the club.”
Rosenior says he was warned when he took over with Hull hovering above the relegation zone that he might have to compromise his principals in order to get points on the board. He refused, and the evidence of his first six months suggest he was right after Hull climbed to a 15th-place finish. He believes with good recruitment they can do even better next season, because of the identity as a passing team he is building.
“Fundamentally, I believe that players want to express themselves on the ball and enjoy what they are doing, which is something you can clearly see is happening at Brighton. We’re trying to have the same identity throughout the club, again like Brighton, where you have the u18s and u21s playing the same style, so you try to build something special. It is something that players we speak to mention quite often.”
Hull’s final league position is even more impressive given that for the last eight games they didn’t have a recognised striker because of injuries, although they still managed to draw 4-4 at Sunderland during that sequence. Albion’s Aaron Connolly went to Hull on loan in January and scored twice in three games before a freak foot injury ended his season. “It was a real shame for Aaron because he started so well for us,” said Liam. “I’ve known him since he was 15 and he’s had some ups and downs in his career, but he’s got so much potential and at 23 he’s still got time to fulfil it.”
Rosenior acknowledges that good recruitment has been a big factor in Albion’s rise during their Premier League years and he thinks they have pulled off another special signing in Joao Pedro from Watford, whom Rosenior’s team took four points off last season and kept two clean sheets.
“He’s got the potential to be world class,” said Liam. “He’s got unbelievable control, is very quick and brilliant between the lines. The way Brighton play you can see him thriving – it’s a great move for him because he will get even better playing with some of the players already at the club.”
While Rosenior works to reshape Hull’s squad there are five more opportunities for him to watch Albion this season. He’ll be at the Emirates on Sunday and is looking forward to seeing the team live. “It will be two great teams playing outstanding football,” he added. “I hope Brighton finish the season strongly and get into Europe, as a former player I’d be so proud if they could do that. They are an outstanding team with a world-class coach.”