Brighton & Hove Albion boss Fabian Hürzeler has praised Ipswich Town ahead of tomorrow’s clash at the Amex Stadium.
The two sides will meet for the first time since February 2017, having never played against each other in the Premier League.
The Seagulls have been one of the standout sides in the division so far, beating Everton and Manchester United before taking a point from their trip to Arsenal. As a result, Hürzeler has been named as the Premier League Manager of the Month for August.
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However, the 31-year-old – who’s the youngest boss in the history of the division – is aware of the threats that Town pose, particularly in forward areas.
“In the Premier League, there are no easy games - especially now against Ipswich, it's a team with a great coach who has a great idea,” he said.
“They have great players like Hutchinson, a very, very good number 10 who’s very flexible. Delap in front, who’s a very good striker, a young striker.
“I’ve followed his [McKenna] way for a long time already and they have created a great togetherness. They have a great idea. They attack very intensely, they press – not clearly man-to-man – but its very man rotated the way they're pressing.
“So it will be very intense and it will be a big challenge for us. You can't compare this game to the games before. There won't be any repetition of any game this season and there's always a new challenge. We'll try to face this challenge and we are looking forward to it.”
There are obvious comparisons to be made between Hürzeler and Town manager Kieran McKenna. Both are young and come from similar coaching backgrounds, but it also runs deeper than that.
Their preferred style of play is clearly very similar, which the German has acknowledged in the build-up to the clash.
“I would say yes, there are similarities and I have a lot of respect for his achievements,” Hürzeler said about McKenna. “What he did with Ipswich is amazing.
“I also now know why - because they play really good, they attack really good, they have a good match plan. There are similarities, but in the end I think you can't copy any style of play.
“You always have to find your own idea and there are some elements that are similar, but there are also some elements that are different. He's a great coach. He's doing a great job there and I'm really looking forward to competing against him.
Brighton’s record against newly-promoted sides has been hit and miss recently, but there’s no guarantee that such a streak would continue under Hürzeler.
Ipswich do come into the campaign with a sense of unpredictability, with a number of new players who’ve only had a limited amount of top-flight experience. Nonetheless, Hürzeler believes that he has a good grasp of what to expect, describing them as a side with a ‘clear identity’.
“When you watch the matches, you always see a clear identity and a clear idea,” he explained. “They want to play out from the back, they don't use a lot of long balls, so that's a clear structure how they want to build up no matter if they play against Liverpool or [Manchester] City or Fulham.
“They always have a clear identity of how they want to do it. It's very impressive and that's why we know that it will be a tough challenge for us.
“We are expecting a very strong opponent.”
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