Brighton captain Lewis Dunk and James Milner both agree that the Europa League group stage draw will be ‘challenging’.
Brighton will be playing European football for the first time in the club’s history this season as they have been drawn against Ajax, AEK Athens and Marseille in Group B.
“We came in from training and watched it in the changing room,” Dunk told the club website. “It’s a good draw: three challenging games which we are looking forward to, and we can win, because we’ve shown in the Premier League we can beat anyone.
“So we’ll go into Europe with confidence high. The gaffer always demands that we show what we’re about. I know we’ve never been there as a football club. But we’ll go in there holding our heads high, to win games.”
James Milner says squad competition will be key
James Milner agreed with the skipper, and having won three Champions League’s in his illustrious career, he knows that good squad depth will be key if the Seagulls want to progress far in the competition.
“It is a good draw, with some clubs with real European pedigree in the group,” he agreed. “And when we get there we’ll be fully focused and the team has potential to do very well in the competition. But we want to do well in all of the competitions.
“There is competition for places and we will need that this season with the amount of games. Every time anyone gets a chance to play they must play well to stay in the team, and that’s what you want.
“The team doesn’t get weaker. The squad is brimming with talent and players desperate to play.”