Chris Hughton is unsure how his Albion players will react to their first Championship defeat of the season.
But he hopes it will ease a burden and act as a “reality check”.
Saturday’s 3-0 defeat by leaders Middlesbrough at the Amex was the first in 22 matches for the third-placed Seagulls in the league.
Hughton, pondering the impact it will have, said: “I don’t know. It can be a weight taken off your shoulders. Expectation levels have crept up and up, the fact we have been there (top). We have deserved to be there, no doubt.
“The answer is I don’t know. I hope the team will see that it’s now a little bit of a reality check for everybody which allows us to get back to winning ways but we’ve enjoyed it and I haven’t necessarily felt it was a real pressure of constantly being there.”
Albion will be fighting for a fourth win in 11 games on Boxing Day against Brentford at Griffin Park, where Hughton’s reign began with an FA Cup victory in January.
Brentford, tenth after one defeat in their last seven outings, have taken seven points from 12 under Dean Smith.
He inflicted the makeshift Seagulls’ first and only other defeat this season while in charge of Walsall in the Capital One Cup back in August.
Hughton said: “We have to try as hard as we can to get back onto the levels we have showed this season, which ever way that is.
“There are different ways you can win a football match and we’ve got to get back to that again.”
Original article
But he hopes it will ease a burden and act as a “reality check”.
Saturday’s 3-0 defeat by leaders Middlesbrough at the Amex was the first in 22 matches for the third-placed Seagulls in the league.
Hughton, pondering the impact it will have, said: “I don’t know. It can be a weight taken off your shoulders. Expectation levels have crept up and up, the fact we have been there (top). We have deserved to be there, no doubt.
“The answer is I don’t know. I hope the team will see that it’s now a little bit of a reality check for everybody which allows us to get back to winning ways but we’ve enjoyed it and I haven’t necessarily felt it was a real pressure of constantly being there.”
Albion will be fighting for a fourth win in 11 games on Boxing Day against Brentford at Griffin Park, where Hughton’s reign began with an FA Cup victory in January.
Brentford, tenth after one defeat in their last seven outings, have taken seven points from 12 under Dean Smith.
He inflicted the makeshift Seagulls’ first and only other defeat this season while in charge of Walsall in the Capital One Cup back in August.
Hughton said: “We have to try as hard as we can to get back onto the levels we have showed this season, which ever way that is.
“There are different ways you can win a football match and we’ve got to get back to that again.”
Original article