Brighton were 'all together as a team' when Premier League safety was confirmed

Brighton & Hove Albion boss Chris Hughton said it was a 'relief' when his side's Premier League safety was confirmed on Saturday evening.
Chris Hughton. Photo: PW Sporting PhotographyChris Hughton. Photo: PW Sporting Photography
Chris Hughton. Photo: PW Sporting Photography

Albion's place in the top flight was assured for a third successive season after Crystal Palace won 3-2 at Cardiff, sealing the hosts' relegation.

Hughton said he and his players didn't watch the game, but were together when they heard the final result.

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"We were all together because we travelled [to Arsenal] yesterday (Saturday)," he said.

"We had dinner at 7 so I didn't watch the game. Up until that time, I didn't know the result. The nice thing was that we were all together a team when we knew the final outcome which was a big relief for us. I had a glass of wine [to celebrate]."

With the pressure off, Brighton battled back from a goal down to draw 1-1 away at Arsenal yesterday. Read our match report here.

Hughton much of his side's impressive display was down to the 'feel good factor' of Premier League safety.

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He added: "We were also on the back of two dogged type performances away from home. Wolves away which was a real big point for us and we nearly got a similar result at Tottenham. Recently, we've been more how we know we can be.

"What we mustn't forget is that we've gone through probably two/thirds of the season without being in what most people would perceive as trouble. At one stage, we were ten points clear.

"The games we needed to win, home games against the teams around us, we didn't do and found it difficult to get that balance. We couldn't score goals we needed to win games.

"We would have probably learned more this season from the difficult period than when we had our better spells."