Albion boss Chris Hughton has told his players to follow his lead and forget about Arsenal as they try to gun down a Championship heavyweight for the first time this season.
They tackle next-to-top Ipswich at the Amex tonight, four days before entertaining Arsenal in the FA Cup.
Hughton’s focus is entirely on points to move away from relegation trouble and he says the same must apply to his players.
He told The Argus: “I can honestly say I haven’t thought about that (Arsenal), even as regards as how many tickets I might need for that game or what sort of side I might put out.
“At the moment we have picked up a few injuries, so there cannot afford to be any distractions. This game is a bigger game than Sunday’s game, because it is our bread and butter and it’s the next game as well, so absolutely no distractions.”
Albion’s five wins this season have all been against sides in the bottom half of the table.
They have lost every time against the top five, including Brentford twice, but Hughton gleaned some encouragement from Saturday’s 1-0 defeat by the Bees in his first home game at the helm.
He said: “I saw a lot of spirit in the team. We had 30 minutes with ten men and probably five minutes with nine when Craig went off. In that period of time we managed to threaten and create some chances, so there were a lot of positives against a very good team. We were able to keep it close.
“Now we are up against opponents very good at what they do. They are on the back of a 3-1 win at Millwall. They are a strong team away from home as well. You have got to be able to compete with them, but you have also got to be able to ask them questions. That’s what we will be trying to do.”
Original article
They tackle next-to-top Ipswich at the Amex tonight, four days before entertaining Arsenal in the FA Cup.
Hughton’s focus is entirely on points to move away from relegation trouble and he says the same must apply to his players.
He told The Argus: “I can honestly say I haven’t thought about that (Arsenal), even as regards as how many tickets I might need for that game or what sort of side I might put out.
“At the moment we have picked up a few injuries, so there cannot afford to be any distractions. This game is a bigger game than Sunday’s game, because it is our bread and butter and it’s the next game as well, so absolutely no distractions.”
Albion’s five wins this season have all been against sides in the bottom half of the table.
They have lost every time against the top five, including Brentford twice, but Hughton gleaned some encouragement from Saturday’s 1-0 defeat by the Bees in his first home game at the helm.
He said: “I saw a lot of spirit in the team. We had 30 minutes with ten men and probably five minutes with nine when Craig went off. In that period of time we managed to threaten and create some chances, so there were a lot of positives against a very good team. We were able to keep it close.
“Now we are up against opponents very good at what they do. They are on the back of a 3-1 win at Millwall. They are a strong team away from home as well. You have got to be able to compete with them, but you have also got to be able to ask them questions. That’s what we will be trying to do.”
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Original article