Roberto De Zerbi considers himself "lucky" to manage the players in his squad.

The Italian manager has been sanctioned with a game away from the bench after his behaviour against Fulham which had consequences; therefore, he will be missing the fixture against West Ham.

However, also pointed out their lack of accuracy in the last 20 metres of the pitch. A problem that he is trying to eradicate and improve as quickly as he can.

  • “I am lucky to be a coach of this squad”

However, despite his absence on Saturday´s game, he is confident that his players will perform at their best level and so will Andrea and Enrico:

“Andrea will be on the touchline… or maybe Enrico! The players know what to do. I am lucky to be a coach of this squad. It is not a problem for them if I´m not on the bench, although I prefer of course to stay on the bench. It is my life”.

Finally, Pervis Estupiñan, Danny Welbeck and Levi Colwill's condition were questioned. Good news for the Seagull fans as De Zerbi confirmed the comeback from both players:

“Pervis and Solly are able to play tomorrow which is good news for us. Welbeck is back in good condition too, we are ready”.

However, he also confirmed that the youngster is still not at his full capability to play with the first team:

“Levi is not available this weekend. I want him to play with the under-21s to achieve the best physical condition. He will be a very important player for us for the rest of the season”.

The manager has warned his ones, demanding them to capitalise on their chances if they want to have a better chance of getting better results: 

“We have to improve in the last 20 metres and we have spoken to the players about this. Only in that part is where we need to improve”.

Never underestimate the challenge. That is what Brighton will seek to do during the game. Despite the standings, West Ham has top-class players who can make a difference at any point of the game. De Zerbi praised their opponents after their 4-0 to Nottingham Forest:

“I watched West Ham last weekend, they are in a good moment. They have great players like Paqueta, Rice, Ings…”.

However, the Seagulls need to win the game if they want to hang with the other clubs fighting for European positions. Frustration from the local team as it hasn´t gone their way in their last couple of games.

“For sure it will be a difficult game. In the last two games, we deserved more points and are frustrated. We want to start strong”.

Finally, he insisted on their last game with Fulham, where Brighton managed to produce better chances but without a prize:

“Against Fulham, we played one of the best games in my time here. We deserved to win”, he concluded.