I think that’s a hell of a shift
Brighton are our visitors tomorrow which brings their manager Chris Hughton back to Turf Moor for the first time since the 2015/16 season when we were both in the Championship and chasing promotion.
We made it that season; Brighton came up a year later and so he takes charge of his team here now in the Premier League for the first time and it’s been a pretty decent first season for them as they get close, surely, to the number of points needed to stay up.
How many points will that be? “If I did think of a number, I probably wouldn’t say,” was Hughton’s response. “It’s certainly good to have the points in the bag and I’d rather be in the position we’re in now rather than be chasing the teams above us.
“Everyone is aware of the challenge that we have and the magnitude of the games we have, but we’ll go into every game trying to get points and believing that we can get them. Until we are in a position where we’re over the line, then of course we can’t rest easily. Our mentality is that we still need points.”
Looking at the Clarets, Hughton was full of praise for us. He said: “I am hugely impressed by the job that Sean has done and by what the club have achieved, particularly after coming straight back up after going down.
“If anything, they are a far better team now than when they came up before and the fact they’re in seventh place is not a coincidence after what we’ve seen from Burnley this season. They deserve to be in the position they’re in and at the moment, they’re the seventh best team in the country and that’s a wonderful thing for them to be able to say.
“They know their jobs very well, and if I look at their work on the ball, if anything, it’s improved in a very tough division. He has a group of players that are tune in 100% to the way they play and getting the best out of the way they play. They thoroughly deserve their status at the minute.”
“Everyone knows the bread and butter is being in the Premier League and continuing that, but behind that, to say you’re a Burnley fan and your side was 16th in the Championship five and a half years ago, and then now has got a chance of playing in Europe, then I think that’s a hell of a shift.
“I think they’re enjoying that, enjoying the feeling of it and the possibility, and if it becomes a reality then I think the fan base will be absolutely delighted with that, and rightly so.
“You could hear the noise in the stadium when we beat Leicester. The fans have been terrific, regardless of Europe. If we get there,, and obviously it’s a possibility now, then I think you’ll have a lot of very happy people. And they’ll certainly play their part in helping us along the way, particularly with two out of three home games.”
But he warned: “The focus still remains on the performance and the outcome. I’m pleased to say after a hard game against Chelsea we went down to Stoke certainly with the right mentality of getting wins. We accept the draw but we could easily have won the game and I thought that was a good show of the mentality of the team to continue challenging ourselves to get as many points on the board. And if we do that, then factually we get more points than the others, then we play in Europe.”
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