Chris Hughton
Image by: Paul Hazlewood
PUBLISHED
08:00 3rd April 2015
by James Hilsum
The four games that we have against the top four are ones to look forward to and not fear;"
Chris Hughton
Chris Hughton
Brighton & Hove Albion manager Chris Hughton hopes his side will rise to the occasion of playing a part in the promotion mix - starting against title chasers Norwich City - as his team will face the Championship’s current top four teams before the end of the season.
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Albion host the Canaries at the Amex on Good Friday, before welcoming Bournemouth and Watford to the south coast ahead of a trip to Middlesbrough on the final day of the season.
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He told seagulls.co.uk, “You want to play against the best teams and you want your players to play against the best teams.
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“You’d like to think that the players enjoy every game that they play in, but it always feels that little bit different when you’re playing against the better teams in the division.
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“The four games that we have against the top four are ones to look forward to and not fear; I believe the players will feel the same way.”
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The Albion manager knows plenty about their next opponents after spending two years as Norwich boss between 2012 and 2014, but admits he is unsure whether this will have a beneficial effect on the team’s preparations.
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“We do our homework on any team but I know them very well. If I anticipated what their team might be, then the large majority of the players may be from when I was there. Whether that’s an advantage or not, you can only tell after 90 minutes.
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“What I do know is that they are a very good team in good form. With the form that they are in, most people are looking at them to go up automatically and they have the squad to do that.”
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“They started this season very well, but this is a very difficult league and teams that come down into this division have to get used to it.
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“That is possibly the reason why they might have had this dip in form, but there’s no doubt that Alex [Neil] has done a fabulous job since he’s been there. He has utilised the players and got the best out of them. I know people have spoken very highly of him and he will want to finish the job off.”
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Friday’s game will be the first of two matches for Albion this Easter Bank Holiday weekend and Hughton expects another tricky encounter with Rotherham on Monday.
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“The Rotherham game will be every bit as tough as playing at home to Norwich on Friday. We want to get away from that relegation zone as quick and as far away as we can. That would apply to Rotherham, whereas Norwich have a different goal. I wouldn’t see Monday’s game being any less difficult than Friday’s game.”
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[h=3]ALBION V NORWICH**
[/h]FRIDAY 3RD APRIL, KICK-OFF 3PM
[h=3]ALBION V BOURNEMOUTH**
[/h]FRIDAY 10TH APRIL, KICK-OFF 7.45PM
[h=3]ALBION V HUDDERSFIELD**
[/h]TUESDAY 14TH APRIL, KICK-OFF 7.45PM
Original article