Murray: We are top club

DELIGHTED: Murray GLENN MURRAY says Brighton have proved they belong in the top flight.

But he warned their win over Manchester United will mean nothing unless they stay in the Premier League this season.

Boyhood United fan Murray scored in his 200th league appearance as the Seagulls stunned Jose Mourinho’s side to win 3-2.

Brighton survived their debut season back in the big time by finishing seven points clear of the drop in 15th place, but no-one is getting carried away by their latest heroics.

Murray said: “Last season a lot of the players had not played in the Premier League before.

“It took us four, five or six games to start believing we belonged at this level.

“This year we can get going from the start. It was a good result but it was only three points.

Depth

“Yeah, it was against a big club in Manchester United, but it is about a bigger thing than that this year. We have to stay up or it won’t mean anything.

“People ask us if we can better last year, and obviously it’s natural that we want to do that, but the main thing is to stay in the Premier League.”

Brighton spent over £60m on new signings this summer and have broken their transfer record five times since they went up.

That shows owner Tony Bloom’s commitment to getting them established in the top flight, and Murray admits that they have strength in depth.

But the striker praised boss Chris Hughton for giving him and the rest of the squad which got Brighton up in the first place a chance to prove themselves.

He said: “I have to thank him for giving me the opportunity to play at this level. Some promoted teams this year have got rid of some players and brought in big names.

“Thankfully our manager did not do that. He gave everyone that helped get the club promoted a chance in the Premier League, and I think most of us have taken that opportunity.

“There is a lot of hype around the Premier League. There are players in the Championship that can play at this level comfortably but sometimes never get the opportunity.

“Sometimes they get overlooked for maybe cheaper foreign players.

‘‘The English market is quite high and that sometimes puts clubs off.”