Brighton boss Fabian Hurzeler has sent a warning to his players that their mentality must be right when facing Conference League opponents, for who playing the Premier League club “might be the game of their lives.”
Speaking ahead of the Seagulls’ clash against Czech side Jablonec, Hurzeler said: “For a lot of opponents, playing us might be the game of their lives.
“Our mindset has to be right. If you think 90% is enough, you have no chance. The mindset must be that this is another great opportunity to show our principles, style of play and standards.
“Every individual must go onto the pitch wanting to play the best game of their life. If we get a good team performance, we have a chance to win.”
Jablonec beat Rangers over two legs in the final round of qualification for Europe’s third-tier competition but lost their opening game 3-2 away against Freiburg. They currently sit in seventh in the Czech first division (1. Liga) after eleven games, following a fifth-placed finish last campaign.
Hurzeler said of his side’s opponents: “We know we have to play at our highest level. Jablonec won against Rangers and played a really good game last week against Freiburg.
“We watched these kinds of games, and we saw that they are a team that try to build from the back. They want to play football, and they have good individual quality.”
Brighton have enjoyed a romping start to their season and are currently the Premier League’s highest scorers while sitting in third.
Hurzeler said: “Hopefully we can keep it like this and the most important thing will always be our performance on the pitch, but all the people who do the work in the shadow contribute to the performance on the pitch and that’s very important for us.”