With European hopes in the balance, Gus Poyet has backed Brighton head coach Fabian Hurzeler following mixed reviews from fans.
Gus Poyet In November 2009, Poyet was appointed manager of Brighton and Hove Albion. In his first full season at the club, he led the seagulls to promotion as League One Champions.
He left the club in 2013, having reached the semi-final of the Championship play-offs in the campaign.
Fast-forward 12 years later and it’s a very different situation for the Albion. They have the youngest Premier League manager in history now.
They also spent over £200 million last summer on signings to try and reach Europe for a second time in their history. Things have certainly been positive for the club.
Despite this, some fans have been unsure on Fabian Hurzeler. He was appointed in June 2024 at the age of 31 years old.
At the time, Brighton chairman Tony Bloom had said: “From the start of the process to appoint our new head coach, Fabian was always a standout candidate and one who had caught our attention with his exceptional work at St Pauli over the past 18 months.”
Hurzeler had won the Bundesliga 2 title with St Pauli, and turned them into a dominant force in the second tier of German football.
The Seagulls manager had a bright start to life in the Premier League, winning the August manager of the month award after an unbeaten start.
Now, with just one game left to go in the season against Europa League winners Spurs (Sunday, May 25), some fans aren’t convinced in the manager.
Supporters have voiced frustration in the game management element of Albion’s play this season. Despite this, Brighton find themselves still with a slim chance of getting into the Conference League for next season.
When asked about whether it has been a disappointing season for the club, Gus Poyet said: “The Premier League is so competitive, and you look at the teams who are above Brighton.
“All of these have bigger squads, and bigger overall budgets including wages and remember where Brighton have come from, so you can’t say it’s been disappointing for Brighton at all.
“They will learn from this season and look to improve next year.”
When Gus was asked directly about some fans’ discontent with Fabian Hurzeler, and calls for his dismissal, the former Albion coach said: “That’s not fair at all.
“Hurzeler is a good coach as we have seen and he is still learning.
“The Premier League is such a tough league and with teams having bigger budgets Brighton are still performing extremely well.
“Look at the two teams in the Europa League final. Their squads and wage bills are a lot higher and Brighton are set for another top 10 finish.” At the time of writing, Brighton currently sit in eighth position in the Premier League.
If certain results go their way, their is still a chance that they will be able to play in the conference league in the next campaign
