De Zerbi's best bits ahead of Sheffield United

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The head coach discussed Evan Ferguson's new contract, Ajax victory and what he wants to see from his team this Sunday.

Charlie Hanson

2023-11-11T06:00:00Z

Roberto De Zerbi shouts instructions from the touchline at the Johan Cruyff Arena.

Evan Ferguson has signed a new contract. What have you made of him since you arrived?

We can’t forget that he’s very young and a young player needs to improve with time. They need confidence, they need to play. I am really happy for him, for his performance, for his improvement, but he’s not complete yet as a player, as a striker. I think the improvement can be in his ball possession, his understanding of play, but we are lucky to have him in our team.

Evan Ferguson joined Albion in January 2021.

Do the two wins over Ajax mean Albion can now be considered a big club?

We are very proud of the historic result, for our fans and club. But you can’t think of Brighton as a big team - people only thought of Brighton as they do now since last year. For me and my staff, the players, we have to keep in our head the last part of the history of Brighton, we are second in our group in the Europa League, we are in seventh in the Premier League, but we lost very important players and sometimes you forget that we are the only team to lose all these big players. Not Aston Villa, not Newcastle, not [Manchester] City, not West Ham, Brighton lost three important players. Brighton is competing, three games every week. It’s very hard work for us, it’s a tough season. I am sorry when I read that we have not won in five games, but you have to understand the season otherwise you are making a big mistake.

Simon Adingra was on the scoresheet again on Thursday, how impressed have you been by him?

I am proud and happy, I am pleased for his performances. But Simon, like Evan, can improve to keep the ball, but he’s playing very well. On Thursday he was crucial for the result – a goal and an assist – he played a good game, 90 minutes with the right attitude, he worked very well in the defensive phase.

With a number of injuries, how much are you relying on the depth in your squad - someone like Jan Paul van Hecke getting more minutes?

van Hecke missed our last European away trip through suspension.

Yes, JP [van Hecke] is already an important player for us, Igor, Webster. Webster is an important player. I am really pleased for Mo Dahoud, his performance against Ajax was important. Billy Gilmour is becoming an important player, a leader in midfield. To reach the different level, we have to push more and more as a team. But first of all, as individual players.

How much emphasis are you putting on keeping a clean sheet this weekend?

A clean sheet and the defensive phase is a very important part of football. But we have to analyse better, because we could have made a clean sheet a lot of times this season – Luton, Newcastle, Wolves, Fulham. Against Fulham we conceded from three long shots in 90 minutes. The second aspect is to respect our characteristics and our characteristic is to attack. We play with four forwards every game, we are playing with only two full backs and one of two is James Milner. James Milner is a natural midfielder. We have to analyse better the goals we concede.