He probably didn’t realise it, but on Saturday, Arne Slot perfectly illustrated how quickly Brighton & Hove Albion’s season has turned around.
“I think it’s nice to have a season ticket here, because this team always wants to play,” he told reporters after his Liverpool side’s 2-1 defeat at the Amex.
Sections of the Brighton fanbase would have begged to differ early in February. Some fans called for head coach Fabian Hurzeler to be sacked following a 1-0 defeat by rivals Crystal Palace, a result that stretched a winter downturn to one league win in 12 matches and left them 14th in the table.
This is how Hurzeler has turned Brighton’s season around in just 41 days, from looking over their shoulders at the relegation zone to looking like contenders for European qualification with four wins in five games.
Darts at St George’s Park
A reset after the timid display against Palace began with a darts tournament organised by James Milner and won by Jason Steele, morphing into Luke ‘The Nuke’ Littler during a stay at the national football centre at St George’s Park between games away to Aston Villa and Liverpool.
“The boys have just been throwing darts more and more,” skipper Lewis Dunk said in the matchday programme for Arsenal’s visit on March 4. “We have a lot of away trips and spare time, and it’s brought us closer together as a group. It brings a good bit of camaraderie and banter.”
An uplift in results was not instant. An unfortunate 1-0 loss at Villa was followed by a 3-0 exit from the fourth round of the FA Cup by Liverpool at Anfield (after beating Manchester United 2-1 at Old Trafford in round three during the league slump). But it was a turning point in the recovery process.
“Having that time together, 24/7 for a few days, helped massively,” Dunk said. “It just gives you more time to bond. You aren’t always in a meeting, you’re at dinner, or you have spare time and conversations just get going. I think it showed on the back of that week when we got the win against Brentford that we wanted and deserved. We get on really well.”
(Harriet Massey/Getty Images)
Banking on experience
The 33-year-old Hurzeler has turned to players older than him in order to spur the team’s revival. It started with a 2-0 win at Brentford in late February, just the second victory in 14 league games.
Milner broke Gareth Barry’s Premier League appearances record at the age of 40 with his 654th outing, this one coming in central midfield. Milner was accompanied on his first league start of 2026 by 34-year-old Pascal Gross.
Hurzeler also recalled 34-year-old Dunk to the centre of defence and had 35-year-old Danny Welbeck to spearhead the attack, having rested the pair for the Liverpool tie. The veteran quartet have been instrumental throughout the upturn, all starting each of the four wins in the last five matches. Those results have included four goals for Welbeck, two clean sheets for a back line marshalled by Dunk, an assist and a recall to Germany’s national team for Gross, and almost as many minutes for Milner (342) as in his previous 13 league outings stretching back to September (345).
A new man at No 10
Jack Hinshelwood, partnering Gross in midfield, scored an unfortunate own goal with a header in the 86th minute from a corner that decided the outcome at Villa. Hurzeler pushed the versatile 20-year-old into the No 10 role behind Welbeck for the first time at Brentford.
The partnership has worked well. Hinshelwood used his head to better effect with a back-post assist for Welbeck’s winner at home to Nottingham Forest (2-1) off the back of the victory at Brentford.
It was the same story against Liverpool, Hinshelwood guiding Yankuba Minteh’s cross on the half-volley into the path of Welbeck to slot the decisive goal again from close range.
“I’ve loved every second of playing with Welbz,” Hinshelwood told reporters after the match about his revised role, having played in multiple midfield and full-back positions for Brighton and England Under-21s. “We have a good understanding of each other and I know he’s always there. We press really well together and we link up well together.”
It’s Welbeck again 🔥
The Brighton striker gives his side the lead for the second time against Liverpool!@tntsports & @discoveryplusUK pic.twitter.com/kAdymtIqE2
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) March 21, 2026
Fans back on side
Hurzeler fostered a feisty atmosphere before and after the only defeat during his side’s recent resurgence (1-0 at home to Arsenal) by attacking the time-wasting tactics of the league leaders.
The mood change was maintained against Liverpool, following a gritty 1-0 victory at Sunderland. A seemingly innocuous coming together between Milner and Hugo Ekitike in the fourth minute set the tone. The Liverpool striker went down to cries of, “Are you Arsenal in disguise?” from the home fans, a stoppage in play for treatment causing a lengthy delay. Ekitike came back on but soon went down again, prompting boos and a slow handclap as he limped off.
Hurzeler cut a forlorn figure at the final whistle against Palace, heading down the tunnel to a crescendo of boos. Moments earlier, sections of the north stand chanted: “You’re getting sacked in the morning.” After the Liverpool game, Hurzeler celebrated raucously as he walked across the pitch to those same supporters in the home end, yelling and fit pumping as they revelled in the result in the spring sunshine.
The contrast could not have been starker. Hurzeler has harnessed the support to restore a feelgood factor to the Amex and to make it a more difficult venue for visitors.
Good morning. 😍 pic.twitter.com/jrHnWyEseU
— Brighton & Hove Albion (@OfficialBHAFC) March 22, 2026
A settled defence and injuries clearing
One of Hurzeler’s favourite phrases is that defence wins championships. He has been able to field the same back four in front of the consistent Bart Verbruggen for each of the recent wins.
Mats Wieffer, converted by Hurzeler from a central midfielder, continues to be an effective right-back since the Dutchman’s return from a lengthy toe injury. Ferdi Kadioglu, ruled out for a chunk of last season by toe surgery, has hit a rich vein of form at left-back.
Dunk and highly-rated Dutch international Jan Paul van Hecke are a strong partnership in the middle, despite the captain gifting Liverpool their equaliser with an attempted back-header to Verbruggen which was seized upon by the visitors’ adventurous left-back Milos Kerkez. The back-four unit will be disrupted for the next two matches, as Dunk is suspended after a 10th booking of the season for time-wasting.
Hurzeler had the luxury of bringing Kaoru Mitoma and Carlos Baleba back from minor injuries as substitutes deep into the second half against Liverpool. The casualty list is clearing (Solly March had a run-out for the under-21s on Sunday). Brighton have entered the extended international and FA Cup break on the up again.
“The learning process was that we didn’t play better, we just managed the game better, the key moments of the game better,” said Hurzeler when asked by The Athletic after beating Liverpool to reflect on how he has turned the season around. “It wasn’t that difficult, because I am very convinced about what I am doing and my principles.
“Secondly, I have a great board behind me, great staff members behind me. I have, with the owner Tony Bloom and CEO Paul Barber, people who have supported me through the whole season. With Mike (Cave) and Jason (Ayto), technical and sporting director, we have a really trustful relationship and that definitely helps.
“I have a great staff around me and I have a great team, great players with great personality. I, and we, have built over the last month a really strong relationship. I can always rely on my players, I can always trust them, because I know when it’s getting tough, they will be there. That’s a great value and a great thing to have. We have to keep pushing now, keep doing the right things and then let’s see how far we can go.”