Roberto De Zerbi hilariously reflects on fan-like experience of watching Brighton - 'I was talking to my mum'

So, on Saturday, it can’t have been easy for the Italian to have to stay seated in the West Stand, due to his one-match touchline ban.

The performance of his team, however, would have kept him relaxed – as the Seagulls thrashed West Ham 4-0 and never really looked under threat all afternoon.

"Yes, it was very different,” De Zerbi said when asked he gained a different perspective of the team from the stands.

"The stadium is very nice. My place was fantastic but I prefer to stay on the pitch. I want to work in my place on the bench.”

Televised images of De Zerbi showed him on his phone in key moments throughout the match, as he appeared to be giving out instructions to his team via this assistants.

But the 43-year-old remained tight-tipped on any conversations he was having, as he hilariously joked: “I was talking to my mum,” cue laughs from the attending journalists.

On the performance of his team, De Zerbi added: “The second half was fantastic for sure. But perfection is not like this. I think we can improve.

"We are in the right way. I enjoy to work with these players. They have my same passion to improve and to work. We can achieve our target because we are strong. We are serious.

“I don't know [what the target is]. If you see the table we can fight. It's not right if I speak about one place in the table. But we are playing very well and we can fight and try.

“I'm really happy. I think we deserved to win against [Crystal] Palace and against Fulham. We were unlucky. We played two fantastic games.

"Today we found the first goal on penalty and the game was easier.

"We knew before the game we are in a good moment but you have to be honest if you don't win.

“We can't change our opinion based on the result. As a coach I have to be honest and clear in my analysis.”

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