Brighton and Hove Albion head coach Fabian Hürzeler said that his players were brimming with energy, enthusiasm and positivity as they prepare to continue their European push at Newcastle.
Albion players were given five days off after their thumping 3-0 Premier League win over Chelsea on Tuesday 21 April before returning to work on Monday (27 April).
The in-form Seagulls travel to St James’ Park sitting sixth in the table following six wins from their past eight outings.
Hürzeler told a press conference: “It’s very important that this time was not to relax. This time was to refresh and I think that’s a big difference.
“It’s very important that everyone understands it’s about refreshing mentally, refreshing physically.
“We had a really intense game against Chelsea and we tried to use this time to give not only the players but also the staff time off so they can refresh themselves.
“They came back with a lot of energy, a lot of enthusiasm, a lot of positivity – and that’s exactly what we wanted to achieve.”
With four games to go, Brighton – still without injured trio Diego Gomez, James Milner and Solly March – can still finish anywhere between 3rd and 16th in the table.
Hürzeler said: “The Premier League this season is unbelievably tight. It’s unpredictable and that’s why you can never get into a comfort zone. You always need to push. You can never be satisfied.
“We know that we have enough quality. We have enough resilience. We have enough belief in our team that we can get the results we deserve.
“But results will come when the performance, the process, the job you’re doing on a daily basis is good.”
