12:15pm
Thanks for following.
Look out for more from today's press conference on the Albion part of our website later.
And don't miss our*rather Albion-orientated World Cup section.
There are great pieces up there already with Steve Foster and Gary Stevens and we'll add more later.
And*I understand there is football on TV tonight too!
Right, that's it from Lancing.
Hyvasti as I believe they say in Helsinki.
12:11pm
That was a polished performance by Hyypia.
Set an optimistic tone without giving too much away.
As Andy Naylor said: "He was very accomplished, as you would expect given his experience both as a player and in Germany."
For those asking about coverage of the press conference by the club, they will show part of it today on their subscription Seagulls Player service plus their own sit-down interview.
Most of the press conference was for written media only and that material will be under embargo until tomorrow.
That will, of course, provide the bulk of Andy Naylor's*reports in The Argus tomorrow, when*I would imagine we would have three pages of coverage.
I will update the website later.
12:04pm
For those interested in such things, Hyypia was going with a black, somewhat Oscar-esque smart blazer and jeans look.
12:01pm
That completes the press conference.
Hyypia is going outside for a photo session.*
11:58am
We now have questions from Finnish reporters.
I trust Hyypia is saying nice things!
11:57am
Paul Barber admits it is tough to compete against clubs receiving parachute payments.
But he says Albion are smart enough to chase promotion.
He cites Burnley and Derby and adds: "We know this division isn't just about money."
11:55am
Asked by Andy Naylor, Bloom says he is "very confident" in Albion's player recruitment process.
Says key is communication between Hyypia, David Burke and himself.
11:52am
Barber says Hyypia's communication skills played a part in the decision as he emerged over time as the best candidate.
11:50am
Bloom now giving Andy Naylor some more specific reasons for choosing Hyypia.
Back page tomorrow, maybe!
11:49am
Hyypia on tough times at Bayer: "In the last two months in the job*I learnt a lot. In an ideal world*we would have got back to winning. But I'm happy*I went through the bad period because I learned a lot."
11:44am
Hyypia*was not overly impressed when asked a question about England in the World Cup.
He reminds us he never got a chance to play in a major international tournament with Finland.
But he then brings laughter when he says he supports the countries where he has lived - so he is supporting both England and Germany at the World Cup!
11:44am
A reminder this service is just to give you a taste of Hyypia's introduction.
It is not a running account of every answer.
There will be extensive coverage in The Argus and other*sources tomorrow.
11:43am
Hyppia was also in touch with Steven Gerrard yesterday!
Not sure by what means (ie - whether it was phone, text, email or whatever).
But he sent him a good luck message for Saturday.
11:41am
Sami spoke to Rafa Benitez yesterday, he tells a reporter with a Merseyside accent. The ex-Liverpool boss was a big influence on him.
But he then bats away a question about whether his long-term ambition is to return to Anfield.
11:39am
Hyypia on Ulloa: "Hopefully he will play here at least a year and maybe after that as well.
"He was a very important player last season."
11:37am
Hyypia says he has learnt specific lessons from last season's slump with Bayer*but is not giving any details.
He is being very guarded on tactics and signings.
Smiling but guarded!
11:34am
Hyypia tells Andy Naylor how he will adapt to the Championship.
He says he was very keen to know about the quality of the pitches when he was talking to Tony Bloom about the coming season.
And he was suitably encouraged to hear most playing surfaces are in a good condition even in winter.
(That should include Charlton this season,*by the way, after extensive work done there recently.)
11:31am
Hyypia explains how Leverkusen signed players for him to use.
He adds: "I'm very pleased my opinion will be heard here."
11:28am
Hyypia now talking about the importance of building a strong defence.
"Compact, good defending and maybe quick transition"
He seemed to be saying that Albion need to*be quicker on counter attacks than they have been.
As we reported in The Argus on Monday, he says he is not really bothered about possession percentage, more about quality of what his team do with possession.
11:26am
We won't be hearing about appointments to the coaching/backroom staff today.
Hyypia says he is willing to take his time on that.
11:25am
Hyypia keen to talk with David Burke and get players in ASAP.
Says his first priority is to put his new squad together.
11:23am
Hyypia now talking live on Sky Sports.
Says he is "very confident - always" when asked about a possible promotion push.
But he adds: "We need to be realistic as well.*The club has had a few good campaigns but my job is to make it even better."
11:20am
Hyypia says he was won over by his visit to the training ground.
He says: "I knew they were serious"
11:20am
Bloom says "what has shone through is the respect (Hyypia) has in the game."
11:19am
Paul Barber is also on the stage.
Bloom thanks him for his input to the "very thorough" manager search.
11:18am
Hyypia takes to the stage and is introduced to us by Tony Bloom.
11:17am
Alan Mullery has just come in to watch proceeedings from the back of the room.
Comfortably the biggest turnout I've seen for one of these occasions.
11:14am
As*I just tweeted, the last four managers to win automatic promotion to the Premier League have all been former centre-backs - Mackay, Bruce, Pearson and Dyche.
My colleague Andy Naylor is particularly keen to learn Hyppia's thoughts on tackling the Championship for the first time.
11:07am
No doubt there will be questions about Hyypia's time at Liverpool and Leverkusen.
I suspect key issues of more interest to Albion fans include:
His knowledge of the Championship
Thoughts on signings
Coaching team
Lessons learnt from his tougher times at Leverkusen
10:54am
There's a fair-sized media contingent in place already.
I'd imagine Hyypia will attract interest on a par more with Gus Poyet than Oscar Garcia if we look at managers/head coaches from the recent Albion era.
We understand time is quite tight today but messrs Naylor and Cantor are right in front of me in the second row ready to fire questions.
Argus snapper Liz Finlayson is right at the front so look out for her work online and in The Argus tomorrow.*
10:47am
Morning everyone - from a new venue.
We're at Albion's training ground in Lancing for the first press conference at their impressive new media centre.
We're due to*hear from*Sami Hyypia shortly after 11am but the new manager is already in the building.
I won't be giving you an answer-by-answer account here - out of respect both to fellow reporters and my typing speed!
But hopefully you will get a flavour of the occasion, then read all about it in depth in The Argus tomorrow.
Original article
Thanks for following.
Look out for more from today's press conference on the Albion part of our website later.
And don't miss our*rather Albion-orientated World Cup section.
There are great pieces up there already with Steve Foster and Gary Stevens and we'll add more later.
And*I understand there is football on TV tonight too!
Right, that's it from Lancing.
Hyvasti as I believe they say in Helsinki.
12:11pm
That was a polished performance by Hyypia.
Set an optimistic tone without giving too much away.
As Andy Naylor said: "He was very accomplished, as you would expect given his experience both as a player and in Germany."
For those asking about coverage of the press conference by the club, they will show part of it today on their subscription Seagulls Player service plus their own sit-down interview.
Most of the press conference was for written media only and that material will be under embargo until tomorrow.
That will, of course, provide the bulk of Andy Naylor's*reports in The Argus tomorrow, when*I would imagine we would have three pages of coverage.
I will update the website later.
12:04pm
For those interested in such things, Hyypia was going with a black, somewhat Oscar-esque smart blazer and jeans look.
12:01pm
That completes the press conference.
Hyypia is going outside for a photo session.*
11:58am
We now have questions from Finnish reporters.
I trust Hyypia is saying nice things!
11:57am
Paul Barber admits it is tough to compete against clubs receiving parachute payments.
But he says Albion are smart enough to chase promotion.
He cites Burnley and Derby and adds: "We know this division isn't just about money."
11:55am
Asked by Andy Naylor, Bloom says he is "very confident" in Albion's player recruitment process.
Says key is communication between Hyypia, David Burke and himself.
11:52am
Barber says Hyypia's communication skills played a part in the decision as he emerged over time as the best candidate.
11:50am
Bloom now giving Andy Naylor some more specific reasons for choosing Hyypia.
Back page tomorrow, maybe!
11:49am
Hyypia on tough times at Bayer: "In the last two months in the job*I learnt a lot. In an ideal world*we would have got back to winning. But I'm happy*I went through the bad period because I learned a lot."
11:44am
Hyypia*was not overly impressed when asked a question about England in the World Cup.
He reminds us he never got a chance to play in a major international tournament with Finland.
But he then brings laughter when he says he supports the countries where he has lived - so he is supporting both England and Germany at the World Cup!
11:44am
A reminder this service is just to give you a taste of Hyypia's introduction.
It is not a running account of every answer.
There will be extensive coverage in The Argus and other*sources tomorrow.
11:43am
Hyppia was also in touch with Steven Gerrard yesterday!
Not sure by what means (ie - whether it was phone, text, email or whatever).
But he sent him a good luck message for Saturday.
11:41am
Sami spoke to Rafa Benitez yesterday, he tells a reporter with a Merseyside accent. The ex-Liverpool boss was a big influence on him.
But he then bats away a question about whether his long-term ambition is to return to Anfield.
11:39am
Hyypia on Ulloa: "Hopefully he will play here at least a year and maybe after that as well.
"He was a very important player last season."
11:37am
Hyypia says he has learnt specific lessons from last season's slump with Bayer*but is not giving any details.
He is being very guarded on tactics and signings.
Smiling but guarded!
11:34am
Hyypia tells Andy Naylor how he will adapt to the Championship.
He says he was very keen to know about the quality of the pitches when he was talking to Tony Bloom about the coming season.
And he was suitably encouraged to hear most playing surfaces are in a good condition even in winter.
(That should include Charlton this season,*by the way, after extensive work done there recently.)
11:31am
Hyypia explains how Leverkusen signed players for him to use.
He adds: "I'm very pleased my opinion will be heard here."
11:28am
Hyypia now talking about the importance of building a strong defence.
"Compact, good defending and maybe quick transition"
He seemed to be saying that Albion need to*be quicker on counter attacks than they have been.
As we reported in The Argus on Monday, he says he is not really bothered about possession percentage, more about quality of what his team do with possession.
11:26am
We won't be hearing about appointments to the coaching/backroom staff today.
Hyypia says he is willing to take his time on that.
11:25am
Hyypia keen to talk with David Burke and get players in ASAP.
Says his first priority is to put his new squad together.
11:23am
Hyypia now talking live on Sky Sports.
Says he is "very confident - always" when asked about a possible promotion push.
But he adds: "We need to be realistic as well.*The club has had a few good campaigns but my job is to make it even better."
11:20am
Hyypia says he was won over by his visit to the training ground.
He says: "I knew they were serious"
11:20am
Bloom says "what has shone through is the respect (Hyypia) has in the game."
11:19am
Paul Barber is also on the stage.
Bloom thanks him for his input to the "very thorough" manager search.
11:18am
Hyypia takes to the stage and is introduced to us by Tony Bloom.
11:17am
Alan Mullery has just come in to watch proceeedings from the back of the room.
Comfortably the biggest turnout I've seen for one of these occasions.
11:14am
As*I just tweeted, the last four managers to win automatic promotion to the Premier League have all been former centre-backs - Mackay, Bruce, Pearson and Dyche.
My colleague Andy Naylor is particularly keen to learn Hyppia's thoughts on tackling the Championship for the first time.
11:07am
No doubt there will be questions about Hyypia's time at Liverpool and Leverkusen.
I suspect key issues of more interest to Albion fans include:
His knowledge of the Championship
Thoughts on signings
Coaching team
Lessons learnt from his tougher times at Leverkusen
10:54am
There's a fair-sized media contingent in place already.
I'd imagine Hyypia will attract interest on a par more with Gus Poyet than Oscar Garcia if we look at managers/head coaches from the recent Albion era.
We understand time is quite tight today but messrs Naylor and Cantor are right in front of me in the second row ready to fire questions.
Argus snapper Liz Finlayson is right at the front so look out for her work online and in The Argus tomorrow.*
10:47am
Morning everyone - from a new venue.
We're at Albion's training ground in Lancing for the first press conference at their impressive new media centre.
We're due to*hear from*Sami Hyypia shortly after 11am but the new manager is already in the building.
I won't be giving you an answer-by-answer account here - out of respect both to fellow reporters and my typing speed!
But hopefully you will get a flavour of the occasion, then read all about it in depth in The Argus tomorrow.
Original article