Not Andy Naylor
Well-known member
Stocko was at the EFL launch event at Fulham on Tuesday and had a sit-down with one or two national journos after doing his TV stuff. The quotes were embargoed until 10.30 last night and some found their way out in today's redtops. But here's the whole thing.
Q: Have you got over it yet?
A: Just - two days ago! I had to have two operations after the season so I had a lot of time to reflect on it. It was a tough time for all of us but what can you do? That's football. Even now you think: 'If only this, if only that …' It's mainly the Middlesbrough game. We actually got on top with ten men. Dale didn't do anything but we just went all out but nothing dropped for us. But if we'd beaten Derby the week before it would have been a totally different game.
Our aim was 89 points and we got it. That's the hardest thing to take. Then in the playoffs we thought that, having finished third, we were good enough to do anything and we had four injuries at Sheffield Wednesday. We did well to keep it to 2-0.
People were saying we wouldn't do anything in the second leg because of the injuries but we could have been 4-0 up in the first 20 minutes. Steve Sidwell coming back and Anthony Knockaert, it shows the power of people's minds when so much is at stake. But that's not because they wanted to do well for themselves, it was for all the Brighton supporters. It was an unbelievable atmosphere but it just wasn't to be. If we'd scored all those goals...
After the home leg, the chairman came down and that was tough. He's a Brighton fan, supported the club all his life and put his money in, and he looked a broken man, nearly. But he gave a great speech and said how proud he was of everything we'd done and the way we'd carried the club's badge. Even now it gives you goosebumps. Remembering how he felt that day, you want to go one better for him.
We all thought it was our time. We had a little meeting and said: 'What do we do from here?' But if you don't aim to improve every season, what's the point? So if we improve on 89 points, it's got to be 90 points or 89 and a lot more goals. If you improve on the season we had we've got a very good chance.
Q: You've got Villa, Newcastle, Norwich in the division now …?
A: That's 18 points there! But that's how I look at it. I think I'm going to keep 46 clean sheets and win the league every season, fly off on holiday with the kids and be happy. But the day I say 'I'm going for a draw here' is the day I stop playing. I don't go out to draw, I want to win every game. Whoever it is against.
No-one in this league is trying just to stay in it. They know anyone can put a season together, get in the play-offs and go up. It happens. Blackpool did it and they were favourites for relegation. And we're talking about an established club like Brighton that does everything the right way. They don't go and spend millions and millions of pounds on players every year and give them stupid wages. We bought ourselves a ground, then a training ground and we find a way to get the best players at the best prices and then try and improve them. Knockaert came back from Belgium and showed what he can do, thriving in that environment. I feel the club is the right fit, we just haven't got the badge on the arm to say we're in the Premier League.
Q: Does it worry you that there have been bids for some of your players?
A: They were all still there last time I looked. If they didn't want to stay there, they wouldn't be there. Sometimes money prevails and if the chairman said 'okay, this is an amount of money we can't refuse', then money talks, but you'll notice there's been no transfer requests or flare-ups or players not playing games. That's not the way we work. We play the games and do our best for Brighton until someone tells you you're not playing for them any more. That's how we are and how we've got to where we are. Good players who thrive well in a team environment. That's why they're getting interest from other clubs higher up but it would be nice if they can get there with us.
Q: How's Glenn Murray fitting in?
Very good. He's a northern lad so I get on with him. You see what he's done in his career and hopefully we can get him out of his wheelchair!
Q: Have you got over it yet?
A: Just - two days ago! I had to have two operations after the season so I had a lot of time to reflect on it. It was a tough time for all of us but what can you do? That's football. Even now you think: 'If only this, if only that …' It's mainly the Middlesbrough game. We actually got on top with ten men. Dale didn't do anything but we just went all out but nothing dropped for us. But if we'd beaten Derby the week before it would have been a totally different game.
Our aim was 89 points and we got it. That's the hardest thing to take. Then in the playoffs we thought that, having finished third, we were good enough to do anything and we had four injuries at Sheffield Wednesday. We did well to keep it to 2-0.
People were saying we wouldn't do anything in the second leg because of the injuries but we could have been 4-0 up in the first 20 minutes. Steve Sidwell coming back and Anthony Knockaert, it shows the power of people's minds when so much is at stake. But that's not because they wanted to do well for themselves, it was for all the Brighton supporters. It was an unbelievable atmosphere but it just wasn't to be. If we'd scored all those goals...
After the home leg, the chairman came down and that was tough. He's a Brighton fan, supported the club all his life and put his money in, and he looked a broken man, nearly. But he gave a great speech and said how proud he was of everything we'd done and the way we'd carried the club's badge. Even now it gives you goosebumps. Remembering how he felt that day, you want to go one better for him.
We all thought it was our time. We had a little meeting and said: 'What do we do from here?' But if you don't aim to improve every season, what's the point? So if we improve on 89 points, it's got to be 90 points or 89 and a lot more goals. If you improve on the season we had we've got a very good chance.
Q: You've got Villa, Newcastle, Norwich in the division now …?
A: That's 18 points there! But that's how I look at it. I think I'm going to keep 46 clean sheets and win the league every season, fly off on holiday with the kids and be happy. But the day I say 'I'm going for a draw here' is the day I stop playing. I don't go out to draw, I want to win every game. Whoever it is against.
No-one in this league is trying just to stay in it. They know anyone can put a season together, get in the play-offs and go up. It happens. Blackpool did it and they were favourites for relegation. And we're talking about an established club like Brighton that does everything the right way. They don't go and spend millions and millions of pounds on players every year and give them stupid wages. We bought ourselves a ground, then a training ground and we find a way to get the best players at the best prices and then try and improve them. Knockaert came back from Belgium and showed what he can do, thriving in that environment. I feel the club is the right fit, we just haven't got the badge on the arm to say we're in the Premier League.
Q: Does it worry you that there have been bids for some of your players?
A: They were all still there last time I looked. If they didn't want to stay there, they wouldn't be there. Sometimes money prevails and if the chairman said 'okay, this is an amount of money we can't refuse', then money talks, but you'll notice there's been no transfer requests or flare-ups or players not playing games. That's not the way we work. We play the games and do our best for Brighton until someone tells you you're not playing for them any more. That's how we are and how we've got to where we are. Good players who thrive well in a team environment. That's why they're getting interest from other clubs higher up but it would be nice if they can get there with us.
Q: How's Glenn Murray fitting in?
Very good. He's a northern lad so I get on with him. You see what he's done in his career and hopefully we can get him out of his wheelchair!
