As Brighton gets ready for another "tough, tough game" against relegation-threatened Everton, Roberto De Zerbi believes they completely deserve a spot in Europe for next season.
The south-coast club's effort to qualify for a first-ever continental campaign has been aided by memorable back-to-back Premier League triumphs over Wolves and Manchester United.
With games remaining against each of their competitors, the high-flying Seagulls are competing with Liverpool, Aston Villa, and Tottenham for a top-seven position.
De Zerbi advised his talented players to not let results or the standings distract them from carrying out his possession-based game plan.
The Italian predicted that the Toffees would be a formidable opponent, saying, "It will be a very tough, tough game."
"But we want to reach our goal, and I think it's obvious to everyone that we are competing for Europe against major teams like Tottenham, Aston Villa, and Liverpool.
And right now, I believe we deserve to be in the finest position."We have to be focused only on to enjoy and to show our quality because we are not used to playing for this target," the coach said. "We have to think not of the results, we have to be focused only on our style and quality of play."
Early in January, Brighton romped to a 4-1 victory at Goodison Park.
Less than three weeks later, Sean Dyche took Frank Lampard's position at Everton.
De Zerbi is prepared for a tough test as sides at the bottom fight for survival with time running out, despite the fact that the Toffees have only won one of their past 11 matches in the top division.
When questioned about the overwhelming success on Merseyside, he responded, "It's a very different circumstance.
The team that we defeated in Everton was different.In my opinion, games are usually harder to win when there aren't many left to play in the season's final stretch.
Prior to Thursday night's dramatic 1-0 victory over United, Brighton had just completed a record-breaking 6-0 demolition of Wolves.
De Zerbi desires another rowdy atmosphere at Amex Stadium from Seagulls supporters acting as a 12th man.
It's great, my guys think playing at home is different, he remarked.
"Now that we're playing with 12 players, there is an incredible amount of energy and enthusiasm."
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