Brighton’s Joel Veltman has revealed that Fabian Hürzeler urged him to be “more active” in his performances.
Since Hürzeler replaced Roberto De Zerbi as head coach in the summer, Veltman has started in each of his six appearances this season, having impressed his new boss in pre-season during which he received praise for his ability to read the game.
“The first proper conversation was after a strength and conditioning session in Japan and he was telling me that he really liked me, that I see the game properly and what the game asks from me as a player.”
Veltman added that Hürzeler had been critical of his quietness as he continued: “He also said I could still talk a lot more to the players around me, given my experience.
“He wanted me to be more active on the pitch, communication-wise. He was straight to the point and I really liked that.”
Veltman has since worked on his communication skills but praised James Milner and Lewis Dunk for their contrastable communication leadership skills.
“I’m still working on that, but everyone’s different and I’m not the loudest of characters, to be honest. You have different leaders, right? James Milner, for instance, is always talking, always shouting, communicating, whereas Dunky is more low-key, he leads by example.
“Then you have someone like me, who’d rather speak to an individual, rather than in front of the whole group.
“But I 100 percent agree with the gaffer; I need to communicate more with the guys in front of me because if you do that, then you’re going to have less problems.”
The 32 year-old defender is therefore pleased to have a manager who can be honest with his players.
“When you have a coach with that kind of honesty, you know where you are, where you stand. I prefer people to be open and to put all their cards on the table.”
Brighton currently lie sixth in the Premier League and just two points away from the top-four, with Veltman happy that Hürzeler has simply opted for continuity and built upon De Zerbi’s work.
“We have continued with the way we play, in terms of keeping possession, creating chances and utilising our wing play, but every gaffer has his own details.
“For instance, if I’ve done an overlap and don’t receive the ball, don’t be disappointed, but just run back straight away. No negative reactions, just get back into shape and help the team again.
“It’s also very intense. It’s like that in training too. If the drill breaks down, boom, we’re onto the next one, there’s no time for disappointments.
“The gaffer says, ‘I don’t care about mistakes. Everybody makes mistakes. All the big players make mistakes, but it’s how you react that’s important, seeing if you want the ball again or not – then you can see if you’re a real player or not.’”
Hürzeler isn’t known for publicly criticising players and instead is focused purely on performance, which has steadily enabled the team to improve with analysis of clips and patience in adapting to his style.
“It takes time and this is the same with every team that has a new coach. “It was the same with Roberto – things don’t happen overnight.
“We also have new players coming into the set-up who need to integrate and for us to get used to them as players and personalities.”
Looking ahead to the rest of this season, Veltman believes that the team can build upon their current league position, with their ambitions set to a high level.
“Overall, we have to be positive; we are in a good position, but the fact that we all feel we should be higher is a great mindset to have.
“While there has been frustration at times, we have also picked up good points against Manchester United and Arsenal, so we need to be positive about the season so far.
“We’ve set the bar high, and we have to keep reaching those levels.”
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