NOW IT’S GETTING TOUGHER FOR HUGH

CHRIS HUGHTON admitted he was disappointed with both goals Brighton conceded at Stamford Bridge.

And he confessed: “If anything in the second half of the season it won’t get any easier – it will get harder.”

The Seagulls were holding their own until they went behind a minute after half-time and the writing was on the wall when they shipped a second from a set-piece.

Boss Hughton (above) said: “The game generally was not dramatically different to what you’d predict – Chelsea would have a lot of possession and ask a lot of questions, and we’d have to defend well.

“For me, the biggest disappointments are the timing of the first goal, which gave them a lift, and the second – conceding from a set-play.

“That’s where you think you can be on the same level as them. At 1-0, you’re still in the game against a very good Chelsea team, so I was hugely disappointed with the goals.

“What you will experience in this division is better quality, or consistent quality of ball in from set-pieces, so you have to be more resolute in how you defend. It’s always about responsibility ultimately.

“You can do as much work on the training pitch as you like, but it’s about the players doing it on the day.”

Despite a fifth league defeat in their last eight games, Brighton are 12th and Hughton said: “I want the players to feel proud of where we are and what we’ve achieved so far, but frustrated because we could have done better.

“Would we have been happy at the start of the season to be in the position we are in now?

“Yes. But we could have done better.”