Chris Hughton believes Albion can emulate Birmingham by playing in Europe.
The Seagulls chief relished Europa League football with today’s Amex visitors when he was in charge of them four seasons ago.
Birmingham qualified by lifting the Capital One Cup under Hughton’s predecessor at St Andrew’s, Alex McLeish, before suffering relegation from the Premier League a few months later.
That led to an eventful 62-game campaign at the helm of the West Midlands club for Hughton, including eight Europa League ties against clubs from Belgium, Portugal and Slovenia.
It ended with defeat in the Championship play-offs against Blackpool.
Hughton told The Argus: “I enjoyed that season tremendously. I had wonderful support at the club.
“They had just been relegated so it was a tough time. We had lost a lot of players in the summer. It was a very big season for us and we did quite well.
“It was a season I remember very fondly and I worked with very good people. As a manager I felt I grew a lot due to the great experience.
“We made the play-offs but didn’t progress, but we had a very exciting Europa campaign. The fans absolutely loved the Europa Cup and the experience of being in it.
“The only reason we coped with the games was due to the few injuries we suffered.”
Birmingham and other clubs of Albion’s ilk such as Stoke and another of Hughton’s ex-employers, Norwich, have all experienced European football.
Hughton sees no reason why the Seagulls cannot one day follow suit. “Of course,” he said. “There are many ways of getting to Europe, one of which is through the Cup, so for any club of a certain level it is something they are very much capable of.”
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