GO DOWN? NO FEAR

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BRIGHTON boss Chris Hughton insists he will not fill his team with fear as they battle to avoid a disastrous relegation back to the Championship.

The Seagulls, who won promotion in 2017, are only two points above the drop zone as they head to Wolves – and have lost their last four Premier League games.

But Hughton believes painting a bleak picture of what the dreaded drop would mean to the club and his players’ careers would be a dangerous way to try and motivate them.

He said: “What I can’t do is fill them with fear. We have five games left and you want to get the best out of the players.

“All I can do is tell them the facts – we have five games to go, we’re two points above the relegation zone, and we don’t want to rely on other teams.

“So, it’s in your hands. The only things that will stop that happening is if we’re not good enough in the end, or we don’t work hard enough to make it happen.” Hughton admits there are times when stick rather than carrot is the right way to motivate people.

But with his players already showing nerves, he is thinking of the latter for his pre-match speech today.

He added: “I don’t want to make them go into these games more fearful to enjoy the challenge. They have to enjoy the challenges of what these next five games will bring. It’s not only this game, but playing Spurs in a new stadium next Tuesday, too. “How good would it be to get a result there?

“These are the positive challenges we’re putting to them.” Hughton is also growing frustrated with the relegation battle’s billing as a two-horse race to avoid the final spot.

His team are two points clear of third-bottom Cardiff, who face Liverpool tomorrow, with a game in hand.

And Southampton, who sit one place above Albion, are only three points better off – with even Newcastle, who play at the Amex next weekend, not totally out of the woods.

“It’s still in our hands and I don’t think it’s fair to talk only about Cardiff,” said Hughton.

“There are other teams still not mathematically safe.”