Chris Hughton Rues Nightmare Week for Brighton as Relegation Fears Worsen After Defeat to Cardiff

Brighton missed the opportunity to move one step closer to survival on Tuesday night as they suffered a second consecutive home defeat to fellow strugglers Cardiff City.

The Seagulls started the game the brighter, but after Nathaniel Mendez-Laing put the Bluebirds 1-0 up, the home side never really looked like getting back into it.

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This result follows Saturday's woeful 5-0 defeat to Bournemouth in what has been a dreadful week for the club and the manager. As quoted by the Evening Express, Chris Hughton told reporters: "At the minute, it’s a big blow and a bad week.

“I do believe we will stay up because I have to. It’s very much in our own hands. It’s been a really bad week, and it’s not a nice feeling at the moment, but we have to use that in whichever way that we can because we need to make sure we get enough points to stay in this division."

Brighton, who have won just two league games in 2019, were not at the races on Tuesday night and Hughton reckons the mentality of his players is suffering as a result of this bad run. He said: "Confidence is an issue, yes. That’s normal. When you’re not winning games, it knocks your confidence."

Whatever problems are facing his team, Hughton does not have long to fix them, as his side face a tricky final five games, which include ties against Tottenham, Arsenal and Manchester City. 

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Before that, the Seagulls face a trip to Molineux. Brighton will need to improve quickly if they are to take anything from a Wolves side who are still looking to bounce back after their FA Cup semi-final defeat to Watford.