Fabian Horzler called on Brighton's players for more consistency and admitted their fitness levels needed to improve despite a spirited second-half performance in the 1-1 draw at home to title rivals Arsenal.
Ironically, the Seagulls have been largely consistent with their recent results, drawing six of their last eight Premier League matches.
But such a series has not resulted in a league win since the end of November. It proved to be a familiar result after Joao Pedro's penalty just after the hour mark canceled out Ethan Nwaneri's opening goal at the Amex Stadium on Saturday.
Despite a strong start to the season, Brighton now find themselves falling to the bottom of the table. They are currently ranked tenth.
FT: Another point deserved against Arsenal. 🤝
(1-1) 📲 #Condiments // #BHAFC 🔵⚪️ pic.twitter.com/Hvip9KAe8l
– Brighton & Hove Albion (@OfficialBHAFC) January 4, 2025
Horzler, the youngest permanent Premier League manager ever at 31, admits he feels frustrated after dealing with the same issues every week.
“Yes, I think it should have been more than that,” Horzler told Sky Sports after being asked if his side should have had more than a point against Arsenal.
“I stand here after matches and feel like I have to repeat myself all the time and that is of course a disappointing feeling.
“The big word for us is to be more consistent. We try to play with the identity you want to play with for the full 90 minutes, and after that, hopefully we get the results we expect.
“We had to invest a lot to get back (in the game).” We came back but then we weren't clean enough in the final third.
“We had big chances and I think you have to take advantage of the momentum to win the game against Arsenal, and today we couldn't do that.”
Room for improvement
One area of improvement that the Brighton manager feels could help address the consistency issue is the fitness levels of his squad.
But he realizes that improving players' fitness is not a quick fix and that it will take time to see any real progress.
“(Fitness levels) might be one of the reasons why we can't play consistently for 90 minutes,” Horzler said. The game we want to play is intense, the game has to be intense if you want high pressure.
“You have to run a lot and at a high pace. We are not where we should be but it is a process. We needed a lot of physicality in this match and we were struggling in some moments and we could not maintain this physical level for 90 minutes.
“So, we are still working on it and using the training time to improve it.”
Brighton will next play when they travel to Norwich City in the third round of the FA Cup on January 11.
