Brighton Fan View: Booing of Bong will bring squad together

The booing of Gaetan Bong at Burnley will only serve to further unite Brighton’s squad for the final three games of the season.

The treatment of Bong by an element of Burnley supporters last Saturday was disgraceful and I was delighted that the Football Association threw its weight behind condemning it.

I am not going to get involved here with the case of Bong’s earlier complaint or any other allegations arising from last Saturday, but what I will say is that if someone has a genuine grievance in any walk of life they have an absolute right to raise it without being subject to the treatment Bong received. For that reason, I am shocked that Burnley Football Club has issued neither an apology nor a harder hitting statement about such behaviour.

What this will do bring the Brighton players even closer together, because that is the ethos and spirit that Chris Hughton has created at the club. It formed the basis of our promotion campaign last season – the players were so tight as a group that they pulled results out of the bag when they otherwise would not have done. The bond was never more evident than when Anthony Knockaert’s father died, with the team acknowledging their absent team-mate’s loss by holding up his shirt in the 2-0 win at Bristol City and then when a group of players – accompanied by Hughton – showed their further by travelling to France for the funeral.

Small margins can make big differences and the togetherness of Brighton’s players last season gave them an edge on promotion rivals. Although perhaps not so evident by way of specific examples, I believe the same spirit has taken Brighton to where they are with three games remaining in this debut season in the Premier League.

It is a position we would have snatched with glee at the start of the season, being five points clear of the relegation zone with three games remaining. Two clubs, West Brom and Stoke City, can no longer overtake us, so it is just one relegation spot we are looking to avoid.

Nobody is taking anything for granted but, with four teams needing to find sufficient points to overtake us, I would like to think we already have enough points in the bag to stay up. However, one more positive result in the three remaining fixtures would make sure of survival.

The run-in could not have been harder with the top three sides in the Premier League to play – Manchester United on Friday night, Manchester City away next midweek and Champions League finalists Liverpool at Anfield on the final day of the season – but if Brighton could produce a monumental performance in one of those games then a shock result is possible.

I believe we can take heart from our two previous games with Manchester United this season, both at Old Trafford, having lost 1-0 in the league and 2-0 in the FA Cup when we created by far the greater number of chances in the second half.

Of course, it will be a tough ask but this Brighton squad is a dangerous animal when it is wounded and at the moment that is how they feel with one of their own having a tough time.

As a Brighton fan, I hope for a positive result on Friday evening. As a football fan, I hope both sets of supporters at the Amex will treat Bong with the respect he deserves.