Brighton can’t rely on other teams, says Lewis Dunk as ‘survival mode’ kicks in

Lewis Dunk has warned Brighton only they can dig themselves out of Premier League relegation trouble.

The Seagulls eased five points clear of the drop zone with Saturday’s 1-0 victory over bottom-of-the-table Huddersfield – their first league win in eight attempts.

Chris Hughton’s men remain too close for comfort to the bottom three, but Dunk insists he is looking upwards rather than over his shoulder.

He told the club’s official website, www.brightonandhovealbion.com: “I’m one who looks forward, not behind me. If you’re looking behind yourself, you’re looking the wrong way.

“We need to look forward to the next game and focus on ourselves. If we aren’t winning, we don’t deserve to be in this league and we can’t be reliant on other teams not winning.

“We had targets at the start of the season, but I think now it’s survival mode. If we play like we did in the second half, then I think we’ll be fine at the end of the season.”

Brighton claimed three priceless points courtesy of substitute Florin Andone’s 79th-minute header to deny Huddersfield any reward as they looked to build upon their first win in 15 attempts against Wolves in midweek.

Dunk said: “There were going to be a few nerves – the pressure on us is massive. Every game is a must-win and we have to fight under that pressure.

“We showed we can do that and we need to use it to our advantage.”

Huddersfield boss Jan Siewert was left to reflect upon what might have been after seeing chances go begging. His side remain 13 points from safety, but now have just nine games to play.

He said: “We had many possibilities, especially on the counter, but we didn’t finish those counters. We have to learn that just one situation in the Premier League changes games.”