Sussex

Katie Stafford
BBC Sport journalist

Brighton boss Fabian Hurzeler has been speaking to the media before Sunday's Premier League game against Liverpool at Anfield (kick-off 14:00 GMT).

Here are the key lines from his news conference:

• Hurzeler confirmed Pascal Struijk will be assessed before a decision is made on his availability for Sunday: "It's not a big issue, but it's something that can get bigger if you risk it too early. We have to make wise decisions."

• Yankuba Minteh and Mats Wieffer are close to a return, with the Brighton boss "quite convinced" they will be back in the matchday squad next week if not on Sunday.

• He also confirmed Jason Steele missed Thursday's trip to Jablonec through illness, while a decision was made to rest Diego Gomez and Maxim de Cuyper before travelling to Liverpool.

• Hurzeler said they "have a lot of confidence and belief" following recent results, but it's about taking it "game-by-game" and not getting carried away with the league positioning.

• In response to whether he encourages fans to dream this season, he said: "I love our fans and if you have ambitions and a dream, then you should visualise it. It's important that our fans have these type of expectations, ambitions and dreams because then we get even more out of them and more connection. They should dream, and we will focus on the game."

• On Pascall Gross, who has missed less than 60 minutes of football so far this season: "There are some players who need this rhythm. We always want to have a player like him on the pitch and at the moment he seems to cope really well with this intensity and rhythm."

• He said he has "a really good team" around him that will help with the challenge of the next five games being away from home, adding: "Travel wastes time and energy. It's really important that you manage it well and we take care of recovery."

• On facing Andoni Iraola's Reds: "We know what we can expect from Liverpool. Very intense pressing so a very intense game. Anfield is always a very special environment and atmosphere. We have to be prepared mentally and physically, but we seem to be in a good place."

Hit play above to hear more from Hurzeler or listen on BBC Sounds here

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We asked for your views on Thursday's draw with Jablonec in the Conference League.

Here are some of your comments:

Phil: Always tricky away from home in Europe. Jablonec parked the bus and nearly stole a goal at the end on the break. A point was fair.

James: This makes sense after a really strong start to the league that we are a bit tired - but, again, what a start this season it has been.

James: Brighton fans have been spoiled recently with fantastic flowing football. This was a sobering reminder that our squad may not have enough quality. Too many poor performances, dull football and zero goal threat with this much-changed line-up. Need to play a stronger team in the next European game. Still, you can't win them all and the season has been brilliant so far.

Steve: Disappointing, disjointed performance where if truth be told we were fortunate to have gained a point. But we move on, dust ourselves down and get ready for three very difficult matches in the next week.

Jerry: This was a nice opportunity to switch some things up and give some players playing time while focusing on the domestic table ahead against Liverpool. Brighton know they can eke into the play-off tournament so there is no urgency here.

Simon: Just like Tromso away we always struggle to break down park-the-bus teams. Some 26 shots and only four on target sums it up. Ran out of steam and almost lost it, so take a point and move on. Was mostly our second string anyway. Sunday will be different.

A new episode of BBC Radio Sussex's Albion Unlimited podcast is available to listen to and download now on BBC Sounds.

Johnny Cantor and former Seagulls defender Warren Aspinall react on the whistle in the Czech Republic after Thursday's goalless draw with Jablonec, plus, hear from fans.

"They will be very disapointed as a team," said Aspinall.

"They got the clean sheet but attacking-wise they were very poor. There was poor decision-making, poor shots on target.

"The fans behind the goal are delighted but, for me, you have to do much better in front of goal - 23 attempts and five on target is not good enough.

"It's like the balloon has been popped and all the air has come out of it."

Listen below or on BBC Sounds here - and don't forget to subscribe to get each episode into your My Sounds feed.

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Listen to every Brighton game live on BBC Radio Sussex, with all the build-up and full commentary with Johnny Cantor and Warren Aspinall, and there is a full preview of all Seagulls' matches on Fridays at 18:00 in The Weekend Warm-up

Manchester United would likely have to pay a world record fee if they want to replace Michael Carrick with Fabian Hurzeler and prise the German away from Brighton. (Telegraph - subscription required), external

However, Hurzeler would not be interested in the United job if it became available. (Talksport), external

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Brighton manager Fabian Hurzeler speaking to TNT Sports: "We did not play on our highest level, Jablonec defended well and defend box well, good movement in transition. Overall not the result we wanted, but we have to keep going.

"If you play 0-0 then you didn't create enough, that's definitely something we have to get better at. We have to understand what it needs to play in this cup, understand we have to be brilliant at the basics. We weren't good at the basics today, that's something we have to improve."

On why his team couldn't find a way through: "Good defending, crosses not where we wanted to have them. The precision in the last action was missing, that's something we have to improve.

"The longer the game got, the more space they had to make transitions. We tried to push hard for scoring the goal and of course they had the space to make counter movements. In certain moments we were lucky.

"We always learn, I think it's important to take things away from this game and improve in the next game. There is no time for a lot of disappointment, we have to focus on the next game."

Whether you were at the game or following from elsewhere, we want to know what you learned.

Get in touch with your views here

Come back to this page on Friday to find a selection of your replies.

There are 18 games in both the Europa League and the Conference League on Thursday - with Bournemouth, Crystal Palace and Sunderland involved in the former, and Brighton the latter - and BBC Sport will bring you every moment.

• Jablonev v Brighton (17:45)

• Lech Poznan v Sunderland (17:45)

• Besiktas v Crystal Palace

• Bournemouth v AC Milan

Kick-off times 20:00 BST unless stated. See the fixture list in full here

Follow all of the action and reaction here

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Sheffield United legend Billy Sharp joins the pod following his retirement after a 22-year-long career. He tells us what made him an EFL bagsman and how he knew it was time to hang up the boots.

Burnley have not won at home in the league for an entire year- how real is the threat of back-to-back relegation? What's the root of their problem?

Where's it going wrong at Derby County and Norwich City?

Plus, there's been a sacking in League Two: having been let go by Crawley Town, what next for Colin Kazim-Richards?

Listen to the full episode above or on BBC Sounds here - and don't forget to subscribe to get each episode into your My Sounds feed.

Brighton boss Fabian Hurzeler has been speaking to the media before Thursday's Conference League game against Jablonec at Stadion Steelnice (kick-off 17:45 BST).

• Pascal Struijk is out but will be back in contention "quickly", while Femi Azeez is still injured and his return remains unclear at this stage.

• Asked about the wider health of his squad, the Brighton boss said "everything is fine".

• Hurzeler said his side will not "underestimate anyone" as they face Czech side Jablonec in their second Conference League match, adding: "We know we have to play at our highest level. Jablonec won against Rangers and played a really good game last week against Freiburg."

• Excluding the Conference League qualifiers, Jablonec are winless in their last six games in the third tier European competition, conceding at least once in each of those games. But Hurzeler said: "We watched these kinds of games, and we saw that they are a team that try to build from the back. They want to play football, and they have good individual quality."

• Asked if Premier League clubs are a big target when playing in Europe, Hurzeler offered: "For a lot of opponents, playing us might be the game of their lives. Our mindset has to be right. If you think 90% is enough, you have no chance. The mindset must be that this is another great opportunity to show our principles, style of play and standards. Every individual must go onto the pitch wanting to play the best game of their life. If we get a good team performance, we have a chance to win."

• The German boss praised his staff for Brighton's emphatic start to the season, as they have scored 23 goals in their last seven games, stating: "All my staff do a great job in the shadows because I think no one sees how much effort they put into planning these kinds of trips so well."

• Hurzeler added: "Hopefully, we have a lot of games, so there has to be a long-term plan, there has to be a mid-term and also short-term plan, and therefore, I'm really pleased with how everyone sticks together, how everything is planned. Of course, there has to be a lot of planning in different departments, not only regarding organisation, also my analysis department, the medical department. Everyone who's involved in our journey has to play a big part in it, and they all do a great job so far. Hopefully we can keep it like this and the most important thing will always be our performance on the pitch, but all the people who do the work in the shadow contribute to the performance on the pitch and that's very important for us."

Chelsea have joined Galatasaray in the hunt for Brighton's 23-year-old Sweden midfielder Yasin Ayari. (Teamtalk), external

Want more transfer stories? Read Thursday's full gossip column

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