Hughton expects a reaction

Albion manager Chris Hughton expects a reaction from his players at Rotherham this evening.
Brighton boss Chris Hughton. Picture by Phil Westlake (PW Sporting Photography)Brighton boss Chris Hughton. Picture by Phil Westlake (PW Sporting Photography)
Brighton boss Chris Hughton. Picture by Phil Westlake (PW Sporting Photography)

Brighton lost 3-0 at Nottingham Forest on Saturday as they fell to a second successive Championship defeat and Hughton said: “You always have to say the right things, be level-headed and appreciate that there’s going to be moments in the season where things don’t go our way.

“That’s been the case, perhaps more so on Saturday than against Newcastle, because we were certainly well in that game and didn’t deserve to lose.

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"But Saturday was a blow for us. They’re the moments where you have to make sure you stick together, say the right things and more importantly, expect a reaction.

“Generally, that’s what we’ve had from this group of lads and we’ll need to expect that again."

Hughton feels his side will need to be at the top of their game at a Rotherham side who are bottom of the table. He said: "You have to try and produce as high a level as you can to be able to win as many football matches as you can.

“If you don’t reach those levels, you can get beat. That was the case on Saturday where we conceded a couple of poor goals, certainly by our standards.

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“It’s about getting a reaction. There won’t be any team that we play that shock us by the way that they play, every game is a tough game.

“Every game is a competitive game and there isn’t any team that’s going to give us an easy one. We need to make sure we get back on track and look forward to these next set of games.

“There’s only one response and that’s certainly to go and put in a higher level of performance than we did on Saturday, that’s the starting position.

“If that happens to be the case, then we’ll give ourselves a chance to win the game."

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With Derby County at home on Friday, Hughton said: "They're all crucial weeks at the moment and they're all crucial games.

"This is the next one and this is one, of course, that we want to win. But the moment we start talking about big games, the next one always seems the biggest and then the next one after that is the biggest, so they're all crucial games.

"What we have to remember is we're on the back of two very good wins, Barnsley away and at home to Reading and a performance against the league leaders that wasn't a bad performance.

"It was settled by an unfortunate goal as you're likely to see and and a bit of brilliance. We're really on the back of one bad performance and we need to remember that as well."

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When asked if he was wary about facing a struggling Rotherham team, who have collected just one point in nine matches, Hughton said: “I’m not more [wary] than any other away game that we play. You’re wary of every single away game because the level in this division is high.

“If you don’t reach those levels, you can come unstuck anywhere, whether that’s at the top end or bottom end of the division.

“It’s the same precautions that we would take anywhere we go, and the message is the same wherever we go."

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