As Graham Potter leaves The Seagulls to take over from recently released Tuchel at Chelsea, Brighton is seeing one of their own step up as Interim Head Coach. Andrew Crofts has been involved with Brighton since his playing days. Most recently, he re-joined them as a Player Coach a couple of years back and has since become the Head Coach of their U21s Squad.
Crofts who recently achieved his UEFA Pro Licence coaching badge is starting his career off in a major way. While he only put up his boots a few years ago, becoming the U21 coach from Brighton and now Interim Head Coach for the first time is quite the achievement. Many coaches wish their careers could start off with such a bang and it will be amazing to see what Crofts can do with such opportunities and where it will take him in the future.
Crofts took the first team training session Thursday morning and has a lot of good things to say about the players, staff, and club as a whole.
“I’m proud and excited, I’ve been associated with the football club for such a long period of time over different spells, but it’s not about me, it’s about what the club needs and what the players need.
“The main focus is going to Bournemouth, to stay in the moment that they’re in as a group, to fight as hard as we can to get more points on the board and with what I have seen this season, they’re in such a good place, such confidence, you can see they’re really enjoying their football and looking forward to the next game.
Crofts will likely use his experience as both a player and U21 coach for Brighton and Hove to rally the troops and have them on his side. He has been quoted saying that even though it is a bit of a disappointment that Graham left the club, the boys are so professional they couldn’t wait to get back to training.
What Crofts Had To Say
“You know there is going to be disappointment with Graham and the staff leaving the club, because of the relationships they’ve built up. But we’ve spoken about it and the boys were straight to work on the training pitch and because they’re so professional they couldn’t wait to train.
“The energy and intensity was really good, it was a really positive morning in terms of the work we got done on the grass.”
“They know where they’re at and what they’ve had to do to get to that point, so it’s very much a case of keeping it the same as what they’ve been doing, we don’t need to change anything.
“We just have to help drive what they’ve been doing. They’ve worked so hard as a group to get to where they are now, it’s just a case of helping them in any way we can.”
Of Course, Crofts can’t do it all on his own and will be joined and supported by some fantastic coaches such as his U21 colleague Shannon Ruth, set play coach Nick Stanley, Adam Lallana, and assistant goalkeeping coach Jack Stern
Crofts had an amazing playing career and is looking to now show his passion and love for the game as a coach. He has played for a number of clubs including his local side Gillingham. He has also had spells at Charlton, Norwich City, Scunthorpe United, Newport, and of course Brighton.
Living in Medway myself, which is where Crofts grew up it is amazing to see a local boy make it on such a big stage. Crofts has a lot of passion for the sport and can even be seen watching his own Son train and play when time permits. Crofts loves to give back to the game in any way he can and this is especially true for those involved in the sport in his local area.
I for one would just like to say a massive congratulations to Andrew and wish him the best. Being the Interim coach is a great platform for him to showcase the type of coach he is. This will also let him show the type of man he is and really gives him an opportunity to showcase loyalty, morals, and knowledge of the game.
Brighton is currently 4th in the Premier League after 6-games in. Let’s see what Crofts and The Seagulls can do while they figure out who their next Head Coach is going to be!
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