Fabian Hurzeler's first media conference

Fabian Hurzeler spoke to the media as Albion boss for the first time on Tuesday morning.

What does it feel like to be here?

I'm really happy to be here. It's a big honour for me to be the head coach of Brighton and I'm really looking forward to working together with the team on the pitch to achieve big things.

I really like the club's DNA, the philosophy of the club, the analytical and data-driven based approach is special. And the history is impressive, what the club achieved. And I like the style that they want to play. It's always with courage and me and my team, we will try to continue this. I hope it’s the perfect match and that we can create good things together.

You're the youngest permanent head coach in Premier League history. What makes you feel ready for this challenge right now?

I'm aware that this is a huge job so that’s a big challenge. And I think I need a lot of courage and, of course, humility. I need to stay humble. I think these two values are very important. To be honest I will learn a lot and I'm sure that I won't become a worst manager. 

There are six players in this squad that are older than you. So how are you going to make sure that age isn't an issue? 

So I call myself the 'friendly authority.' Football is my passion. And I try to convince the players by using the power of my ideas. I want to value every player. I want to improve every player together with my coaching team. I have a great team around me.

I think that we have a great squad already. We have great characters; a good mixture between young players with big potential and older experienced players who have achieved a lot of things.

What are your immediate priorities? What are you hoping you can achieve in your first season? 

I think it's always important to have targets, to have a vision. I want to discuss them with my players first because in the end the players have to be convinced of that. And I want to challenge the establishment.

What are the biggest differences for you going to be coming to the Premier League from the Bundesliga?

The main difference is the culture and the language. But Tony Bloom, Paul Barber and the people at the club are amazing. But I will work here the same as I worked with St. Pauli. I'm a worker, I would say, and I'm grounded and I love to work and to have new challenges in life.

Have you managed to speak to some of the players yet?

I have had a lot of very open chats with them, and I really like the open-minded characters in this team. That is something special that I feel and I'm looking forward to meeting them in person.

What's the latest in terms of your backroom staff and bringing in your own coaching team? 

First of all I value the staff members who are already here because they have a lot of knowledge. For example, Andrew Crofts is an amazing character who has a lot of knowledge and I want him to be part of my team as well as [goalkeeping coach] Jack Stern and the whole analysis team because they know the Premier League. On top of that I will bring in a goalkeeper coach, an analyst and one assistant coach.

How much of the Premier League did you watch while working in Germany?

I watched almost every Brighton game! I watched a lot of Arsenal and Manchester City. It's part of my job to follow different trends in football.

The Premier League is the best league in the world; they have the best coaches so you can learn a lot of things. In the end you always have to have your own identity, your own philosophy, but I think it's also important to take some elements from others and to always try to adapt. If you stay at the same point you won't develop, and I want my players and all the people around me that they develop too. 

You came to the Spurs game at the Amex in December, what was that experience like?

I came here for my winter vacation, and I travelled with some friends going through the UK watching different Premier League games and at the Amex I really loved the atmosphere. I loved the crowd and the feeling they had for their team; that they tried to push them when there were hard situations in the game.

During the 90 minutes I felt more and more a supporter of the team, so I was cheering for them in the end! It was a great feeling. I'm really looking forward to seeing the fans, to working together and hopefully celebrating a lot of wins.

Why did you decide to retire from playing so young? And what gave you the coaching bug? 

I always say that I'm a young man but I'm not a young coach as I was able to gain a lot of experience in different areas. I don't have experience in the Premier League but there's always a start and now it's my start for me.

When I was 21, 22, I had to be honest to myself that I wouldn’t reach the highest level, so I wouldn’t be a player of Brighton, for example. I was start thinking what I would do after my career and I said, okay, football is my passion, I will do it my whole life so why don't I start now as a head coach and there was the opportunity that Pippenstedt gave to me and I took the challenge.

You obviously have the self-belief that you're going to be successful.

I think it’s a mix between courage and humility - it is important to stay humble. You always need the belief in the team.

Where are you positioned between the other German coaches in the Premier League in terms of your philosophy? 

All the German coaches are role models for young coaches in Germany. The intensity Jürgen Klopp’s team have is something special and I really like to have also intensity on the pitch. So, for me, it's like a mixture between ball possession and intensity against the ball. I think you need to have plans for both phases. You have a plan against the ball and you have a plan with the ball and on top of that there's set pieces.