Brighton & Hove Albion must and will bounce back from their top-of-the-table defeat against Newcastle United, according to Chris Hughton.
The Seagulls boss has urged fans and even his team not to lose sight of the successful season they are having.
And while admitting the late 2-1 defeat to The Magpies, which saw them retake top spot in the Championship, was a ‘low’, Hughton is expecting plenty of twists and turns to come in the promotion race.
He said: “We have to take into account that before the game we were top of the division and it’s a defeat that sees us move one place down, we must not lose the fact it has been a wonderful season so far.
“Credit to the team because they have done that because of the hard work they have put in all season. They know the league and they know there are going to be 12 tough games now and where we end up at the end of the season will depend on how me do in those 12 games.”
On whether he believes they can respond and rally, Hughton continued: “One, yes I do and two, we have to. We have a game on three of four days time and then another one on Tuesday.
“As Newcastle did after their result at the weekend, they had to dust themselves down and try and get a result. Yes, we have no choice.
“After a result like this, you do not say too much in the changing room, you leave that to tomorrow. But generally, when we have had a bad result or things have gone against us, they (the players) have shown enough to bounce back form that.
“You are not going to go through a season without having any lows, at the moment it is a low, because it’s a big game we have lost, but they will pick themselves up again and we will look forwards to a good game on Saturday.”