Poyet took over at Brighton in November last year

Brighton & Hove Albion manager Gus Poyet believes his squad will come back from their Portuguese training camp as a more united team.

The Seagulls face Sunderland and local side Portimonense during their week-long spell in the Algarve.

Poyet told BBC Sussex: "The most important thing is the group togetherness. They're together all day.

"We are making sure that the players know each other better and it could be a key thing for the whole season."

He added: "It's important for the staff as well. Normally the manager only sees the players on the pitch.

"Here it's totally different - the environment, the way that the players are behaving and how they are sharing things.

"It's great to play a Premier League team and see if we can compete so it's going to be a great experience."

Albion play the Black Cats on Wednesday before taking on Portimonense on Saturday.

E-mail this to a friend

Printable version