'Overachieved' - Lewis Dunk's emotional reaction as Brighton secure Uefa Conference League spot
Brighton back in Europe for only the second time in the club’s history
Skipper Lewis Dunk insists Brighton have "overachieved" by reaching European football next term.
The Seagulls ended their season with a 3-0 loss to an in-form Manchester United at the Amex Stadium but finished eighth in the Premier League and qualified for Conference League football.
Dunk: We overachieve
Dunk, 34, admits it’s been an inconsistent and challenging campaign for Brighton but he is fiercely proud of reaching Europe for only the second time in the club's history.
Dunk said: "You look at the players, you look at the size of the club. Should we be here? Probably not. We overachieve a lot and that's our thing.
"We want to do this in the dressing room. We want to overachieve as much as we can. Obviously it's hard to compete with the big boys, the boss talks about challenging the establishment and I guess we have because we're in Europe. Let's see what happens next year.”
Dunk needs a break
Dunk has played through numerous injuries this term and says he needs break but will come back fighting next season.
He added: "I think everyone's looking forward to the World Cup and some are looking forward to a break, especially me.
"I can't wait to rest my legs. We'll come back fighting again next year and see where we end up. There's a lot more games, but we'll see where we end up."
Europa League lessons
Brighton competed in the Europa League in the 2023-24 under previous boss Roberto De Zerbi. They topped a group that featured Ajax, Marseille and AEK Athens but lost out in the last 16 to Roma.
The campaign stretched a thin squad and Dunk admits lessons can be learnt from that
"Obviously it's a different competition," said the captain. "But I think it was new to us as a football club.
"I don't think anyone in the football club knew really what was going on.
"We've experienced it. A lot of people have now found it. We've not got many new players that's new to us, so hopefully we can be more comfortable in that position. Hopefully we can thrive in it."