What has the mood been like around the club over since the Play-Off defeat? The play-off defeat combined with the promotion near miss during the regular season was a big blow to fans and players, no doubt about that. But two good home performances allayed fears of a hangover and I think fans have been reassured by the determination chairman Tony Bloom has shown to keep the players who took Brighton to within a point of automatic promotion.
Eight points from five matches, does that represent a good start to the season? I’d say it’s about par. The two home wins have both been very convincing and quite stylish, the team did not quite do themselves justice in the 2-0 defeat at Newcastle and the two draws could have been wins. They had enough chances to have won at Derby, rather than drawing 0-0, and, though they did not deserve three points at Reading, they led 2-1 in the second half before finishing 2-2.
It was a quiet summer player-wise, a case of simply building on from last season? It was quiet in terms of ins and outs but not in terms of interest in Brighton players. Tony Bloom turned down about £20million worth of offers for Anthony Knockaert, Lewis Dunk and Dale Stephens and that has made for plenty of headlines. I think a summer of stability – probably the first in four years - was very welcome and the only reservation is that they did not bring in another striker.
With the infrastructure in place off the pitch, do fans feel it’s a case of when not if promotion comes along? I think a lot of observers outside the club think that. I’m not sure fans would be that presumptuous, especially after three play-off defeats in four years. But obviously there are 20,000-odd opinions out there and the club certainly have a Premier League set-up in place – as do others in the Championship.
Chris Hughton enjoyed a short spell at Griffin Park, how is he viewed by the Brighton fans? As a very shrewd operator after the way he turned the club around last season. And as a gentleman. There has been some talk that he can be quite cautious in approach at times but the team’s goal-scoring record since January would appear to disprove that.
Who should Brentford fans look out for this coming Saturday? The obvious answer is Anthony Knockaert, who is a right winger but has popped up centrally or even to the left of goal for his three goals so far this season. There will be a buzz of excitement whenever he gets the ball.
Has last season’s finish has left the fans expecting another top six finish this campaign? Yes, as did the first two home wins. But subsequent away performances at Reading and Newcastle have brought feet back to earth a little.
Finally, a score prediction for Saturday’s game. I really enjoy the way Brentford play their football but I wonder whether it might be a style Brighton will enjoy going up against. They need a win after those two recent away trips. I can see the hosts winning maybe 3-1.