Nathan Jones celebrates at the final whistle.
Image by: Paul Hazlewood
Interim Brighton & Hove Albion boss Nathan Jones said tonight it felt 'superb' to see the club move out of the Championship relegation zone, thanks to an impressive 2-0 win over Fulham at Craven Cottage tonight.Jones has masterminded an excellent Christmas period for the club, with a four-point return from fixtures with Reading and Fulham, and he told seagulls.co.uk, "That was a Brighton performance tonight, they were outstanding start to finish. We looked organised, we pressed, we passed it around and we were the better side.
"From where I was standing on the sideline it was an excellent away performance. We asked the players to do certain things, and a lot of credit has to go to them, I thought they put in a real shift and thoroughly deserved the three points.
"Over the two games I was slightly disappointed we didn't win both games. Apart from 15 minutes, at the start of the Reading game, the players have been outstanding.
"We have had a week to work with them and they have responded fantastically well. I am very proud of the group of players and to have been involved with them."
Jones had to contend with a raft of problems ahead of the Fulham match, having already lost Darren Bent to injury, which prompted him to recall Chris O'Grady from his loan spell at Sheffield United, he also had to do without midfield pair Jake Forster-Caskey and Gary Gardner to illness.
He added, "Anything that could go wrong today did go wrong, apart from the result and the performance. But we got a great reaction from the players and am just so proud of them and so so proud to be involved with that tonight.
"You invest time in players, you give them a structure and they have responded to it. We feel we’re in a false position. It’s not a miraculous recovery, we've been a good side this season. We've changed one or two things and asked them to do different stuff."
LATEST NEWS FROM SEAGULLS.CO.UK
- JONES HAILS HERO CALDERON
- REPORT: FULHAM 0 ALBION 2
- ALBION FANS WANTED FOR SOCCER AM
- UNDER-21S TAKE ON VILLA AT THE AMEX
- BURKE LEAVES ALBION
He also paid tribute to his goalscorers, Adrian Colunga, who netted a penalty, and Solly March, who killed off the game late on - and praised O'Grady for the part he played from the bench late on."That’s why Adrian’s here and to be fair he did all the stuff we knew he could do and more. He put in a proper shift defensively, he was outstanding, he was organised and really put in a good shift. Then in possession, he’s a very talented man and put in a good performance tonight.
"Chris O’Grady was instrumental in the second goal, and that’s why he is here. That is why we called him back; we felt we needed a presence.
"We all picked a team and a bench to get the game done and Macca put in a fantastic performance, and then I thought we needed a physical presence up the pitch and he did exactly that.
"He won every header, used his body, got us up the pitch, got hold of it, laid Joao in who played beautiful ball for the final goal. It was an excellent goal and great movement and an outstanding finish from Solly."
[h=3]ALBION V brentford
[/h] saturday 17th january, KICK-OFF 3PM
[h=3]Albion v ipswich
[/h] SATURDAY 24TH JANUARY, kick-off 3pm
[h=3]Albion v nottingham forest
[/h] SATURDAY 7TH februARY, kick-off 3pm
Original article