James Milner reveals how Fabian Hurzeler earned the respect of his senior players despite being SEVEN years younger than the former Liverpool star
- Fabian Hurzeler has already won the full respect of his senior players at Brighton
- James Milner, who is 38, says the German’s personality has prevented problems
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Fabian Hurzeler has already won the respect of his senior players at Brighton, many of whom are older than their 31-year-old German manager.
The oldest of them all, 38-year-old James Milner, says the German’s personality has warded off all the problems, and the proof was in Saturday’s win at Goodison Park.
“It could have been a problem if the manager didn’t have that charisma, but he came in on day one with a clear idea of what he wanted. You don’t even think about his age,” said Milner, who started a record 23 Premier League seasons.
‘He’s brilliant and very authoritative. He gives fantastic team talks to get the lads fired up and is also methodical.
“He didn’t destroy what we did before. He recognizes that there was already a lot of good. He just wants to add to it.
Fabian Hurzeler has already won the full respect of his senior players at Brighton, many of whom are older than their 31-year-old German manager
The oldest of them all, 38-year-old James Milner, says the German’s personality has warded off all the problems. The proof was clear in Saturday’s win at Goodison Park
‘I’m sure he’s been asked a million questions, but age is just a number. You’re talking to someone who was playing in the Premier League at 16 and is still playing at 38. Whether you’re good enough for the job is irrelevant.’
Milner expects the rumours surrounding Hurzeler’s date of birth to quickly die down if Brighton play like this.
After controlling Everton’s early pressure, Kaoru Mitoma opened the scoring after 25 minutes, with Danny Welbeck and Simon Adingra adding goals in the second half.
Milner was happy to start in midfield, having been deployed primarily as a defender under previous managers Jurgen Klopp and Roberto De Zerbi.
“It was definitely nice to be back in the middle. It’s a position I like best because I can organise and be close to the action,” added the former England international who missed much of last season with a thigh injury.
“I just want to contribute as much as I can. It’s a fantastic group of players to be part of.”
Hurzeler’s side started their Premier League campaign with a 3-0 win over Everton
The only consolation for Everton – who had a penalty overturned by VAR at 1-0 – is that they have bounced back from an even worse 4-0 defeat to Aston Villa last season.
“It can be a gloomy feeling, but there are positives. When you realize we’ve done a lot of good things within our game plan, there are positives,” captain James Tarkowski said.