Veltman's review of the season so far and working with Hurzeler

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Joel Veltman reflects on the season so far.

Luke Nicoli

2024-10-12T00:00+01:00

Joel Veltman has started six out of our opening seven Premier League games this campaign. 📷 by Paul Hazlewood.

Speaking ahead of our win over Tottenham, Joel Veltman sat down to discuss the campaign so far and how life has been under Fabian Hurzeler.

Joel, you’ve been a regular at right-back in these opening games of the season. That must be really pleasing…

"When you have a new coach, you never know what might happen, but I knew what I was capable of and I had a really good pre-season where I played almost every game. It’s in those matches where you get a feeling if you're in the starting XI or not, and the feeling was good. I had good chats with Fabian as well, some really good conversations with him."

Such as…

Fabian Hurzeler's team are in sixth place heading into the October international break. 📷 by Paul Hazlewood.

"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.

"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.

"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."

So are you more vocal on the pitch now?

"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."

You’re 32 now, so do you think you’re in your peak years?

Joel has made 145 appearances in all competitions for Albion. 📷 by James Boardman.

"I think I am. Some players are in the first XI at top clubs at maybe 21 or 22, whereas when I first came to Brighton, I was still learning. At the age of 30, I was like, okay, now I probably understand the game more and that’s continued into my early thirties.

"I’m smarter on the pitch than I was, in terms of game management and what the game is asking from me as a right-back – getting up and down the pitch, for instance."

It's interesting you mention game management as that was something that maybe we didn’t have as a group last season. Against Roma, for example, we saw a different side with their winning of free-kicks, running the clock down, etc…

"The more we play as a group, the more we're getting used to that side of the game. You need to be in that moment and experience it before you can learn from it though.

"We played Roma last season in the Europa League, but also against Arsenal when they had the ten men… you need to experience that side of the game as an opponent before you can learn from it, but yeah, we're getting there as a group."

Looking more generally, games do generate controversial moments. Is it hard for players and managers to then give interviews straight after the game?

Joel Veltman enjoys our matchday Nottingham Forest programme, which he featured on the front of. 📷 by Paul Hazlewood.

"When you're in the immediate moment after the game, you're still full of emotion and adrenaline, so it’s hard. You can give reactions, saying the referee or the player was wrong or whatever.

"But if you look back at it a couple of days later, after things have calmed down, you can always look in the mirror and say, ‘What could have I said differently?’ Then you will probably come to the conclusion that you might have said things differently. That’s natural in life, not just in football."

Let’s get back to the football. There’s been continuity since Fabian came to the club, but what have been the main differences?

"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.’"

It will inevitably take a little time for the gaffer to get his messages across. That’s only natural, right?

"In every game you can still see clips where we don't do exactly what he’s wanted and then he is on it.

"Maybe after the first game we had ten clips to watch, the second game it was nine, then eight, and so on. 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."

What have you made of our start to the season?

"We feel we should have had more points from the home games against Forest and Ipswich, but we are where we are – they say the table doesn’t lie.

"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."

Ultimately, we’d love to get back into Europe, but can you afford to look that far ahead as players?

Across his time with Ajax and Albion, Joel has made 25 appearances in the Europa League. 📷 by Paul Hazlewood.

"You look at the next game as that’s the one you need to win. The gaffer will always say, ‘this is the fifth game of 38, or this is the sixth game of 38’ – he goes step by step and we need to be like that as players as well. You can’t look too far ahead because there’s no easy game.

"Whether it’s Arsenal away or Ipswich at home, you give them all respect because you can win or lose them all, right? You have to fight for every three points, and every three points is a step closer to where you want to be at the end of the season."

You would love to play in Europe again though, wouldn't you?

"One hundred percent. Last season, we smelt it, we tasted it, and we want more. That will be the dream for us and for the fans, but as I said, it’s all about taking it one step at a time.

"There is so much football to be played, so much can happen, but we are definitely moving in the right direction."