Brighton star says what he really thinks of Fabian Hurzeler's pre-season training sessions in Japan

Brighton defender Adam Webster is preparing for two challenging pre-season fixtures in Japan this week.

The Seagulls are in the heat of Tokyo for their pre-season trip to the Far East that will see them play J-League sides Kashima Antlers and Tokyo Verdy at the National Stadium.

It’s the first trip for Webster and the Brighton players under their new head coach Fabian Hurzeler, who joined this summer following the exit of previous boss Roberto De Zerbi.

Hurzeler, 32, guided German club St Pauli to promotion to the Bundesliga last season and is now settling in at Brighton and setting his team up for his first public game in charge.

“The training’s been really intense," said Webster, who was just starting to find his best form at the end of last term after a frustrating season of niggling injuries.

"Really hard, but it’s been really enjoyable as well. If you put the hard work in, you get your rewards from it – which is what you want as players.

“There are some similarities with what went before, but obviously there are some differences too. There’s been some changes with the coaching staff and the medical team, and you can see them definitely helping us in the long run.

“We review every training session every morning; we go through what was good and where we can improve, so the level of detail is fantastic. It’s been brilliant so far – we’re really enjoying it.”

Their first game will be against Kashima Antlers on Wednesday and then they take on Tokyo Verdy this Sunday.

Webster added to the Albion website: “The J-League is already passed the halfway point of the season, so the teams we’ll be facing will be fit and they’ll want to win in front of their own crowd. They’ll be used to the conditions as well, so it’s going to be a really good test.

“Last year’s pre-season trip to America saw us face Premier League opposition, so we pretty much knew what to expect, whereas the two games this time will be again unknown opposition. But given the level of detail the coaching staff go through, I’m sure we’ll be ready for both games.”

Brighton’s Premier League campaign kicks-off on August 17 at Everton.