A fans forum is always a good insight into what is going on at your favourite club.

But that held at the Amex and broadcast online and on the radio on Tuesday went a bit further.

Not because of the snippets of information such as confirmation that Albion will go to Japan, subject to contracts being signed.

I think most people had guessed that would be the case once Paul Barber had mentioned the Far East.

Not for some of the tactical or selection explanations Roberto De Zerbi gave, which were interesting but were also ground which has been covered in press conferences.

No, it was the other bit. The bit we have been trying to tell readers or listeners about but which is hard to get across.

De Zerbi really isn’t that miserable with life!

Or maybe he is and puts on a good act but I really do not think that is the case.

Yes, he sometimes looks grim and sounds downbeat in interviews and press conferences.

It’s work. It’s serious business. And he’s not going to be happy after a defeat.

He actually looked pretty serious after the 2-0 win at Ajax.

But in these pages we have been saying for a while that, from being in the same room as him, it does not feel like De Zerbi is as fed up as has been portrayed.

Johnny Cantor, who hosted the forum, has said similar on BBC Radio Sussex.

That doesn’t in itself mean he is going to sign a new contract or that he would turn down a fantastic offer from a massive club.

Nor does it mean he agrees with everything that happens at his place of work. Who does?

But it does give a clearer picture as to his mood.

We see it briefly before and after press conferences, we hear bits and pieces.

Fans who went to the Amex or watched online on Tuesday night have seen it as well.

The demeanour, the jokes.

“I need more than cappuccino,” he told Paul Barber with a laugh when told the club would keep him supplied with morning coffee.

There were a few moments which showed the lighter side of the head coach.

He enjoyed the request that Albion beat Chelsea and spoke fondly about the atmosphere for the home game against Marseille.

There were references to how much he enjoys being in Brighton and feels “a connection”.

Asked by a young fan to sum up his time so far at the club in one word or sentence, he said: “How many of you last season thought to reach the Europa League? And so the word is ‘magic’.”

But there was another side you saw. A bit like some of the press conferences - both the bits which are shown on the club website and the times when the cameras are off.

And that was when there was a question about his future.

You think you have pinned hm down.

“You want the truth?” he asked and the audience sensed they were getting the definitive answer.

“I’m not working for the career. I’m working to wake up happy in the morning.

“If I will be happy in the future in Brighton, there isn’t one team who can bring me if I don't want.”

Cheers and applause went up around the room.

He waited, then said: “But…. (laughter from the audience).

“But if I am not happy in the morning, if I don’t feel the motivation to work like last season - or this season as well, eh? - I can change because I am not able to give my best.

“I think if I am able to give my best, I can push the players.

“Otherwise it’s tough because I can’t change my face.

“If I don’t believe or I don’t feel something strong, something more than football, more than job, it’s tough for me.”

Which is when Barber made his light-hearted offer of cappuccino and croissants to keep him happy in the morning and the mood changed again.

De Zerbi says he sometimes reads the city website and newspaper (without wishing to be too presumptuous, I think that might mean us) and that we talked a lot about his press conference in Rome soon after the 4-0 defeat.

Yes, but the interpretation I put on that was that he was looking at the lessons learnt with a view to improving Albion next season, not that he was, as Richard Keys put it this week, writing his resignation letter.

So where are we now?

De Zerbi has given Albion fans the best football they have ever seen and he smiled when he was told that on Tuesday.

He was cheered into the room and cheered out of it.

The club have made two key appointments in a bid to keep players fit and available.

For reasons that we know about, results have gone downhill and De Zerbi mania has abated recently in the national focus, although he was being linked again with Milan this week.

There has been some stinging criticism of him in some quarters.

The challenge for him next season would be to do it again once the “tools” he needs, as Barber referred to, have been repaired, replaced or added to.

Other teams have caught up.

Bournemouth, for example, feel like Albion of a year or two ago.

But it still seems the Seagulls are well placed as a club to challenge the super powers on a solid footing.

The end-of-season forum is a new thing as part of even greater fan engagement.

“Not a great time for a forum,” someone commented to me given recent poor results.

Actually, it was a perfect time. Both for fans to ask questions and the club to reassure and apply some context.

The event gave some valuable insight in response to some good questions.

But, more than that, it gave some chance to see unedited De Zerbi.