ROY BACKS DAN TO BE SEAGULLS HIGH-FLYER

ROY HODGSON believes Brighton have got a real coup by landing his close friend and former FA Technical Director Dan Ashworth.

It was announced this week that Ashworth, who worked alongside Hodgson when he was England manager and when the pair were at West Bromwich Albion (above), would be joining Brighton as technical director.

Hodgson said: “Dan going to Brighton will benefit their manager Chris Hughton enormously. It will be good for them to have a person of Dan’s organisational ability and football knowledge working at your club.

“He won’t be trying in any way to cut across Chris’s job of managing and coaching the first 11, because he won’t see that as his job. He will be there to help and back Chris with all the things that he will need to make Brighton a stronger team.

“I think he is a good signing for Brighton and I congratulate them on it. I would be interested to know his reasons for leaving the FA and taking that job.

“But Dan is a top guy. Working with him at West Brom and England I found him good to work with, and I think he is the type of person clubs do need on their staff, because these days a club is more than just 11 guys or 15/18 guys running around a pitch on a Saturday.”

Hodgson, whose side face Bournemouth on Monday night, confirmed that he will be without injured pair Christian Benteke and Jairo Riedewald.