Adam Lallana has described Albion’s masterclass against his old club as “a poignant moment”.

But he believes there are more special times ahead for the Seagulls under Roberto De Zerbi.

The midfielder is working hard to be fit for the run-in after hamstring surgery.

He has been in constant contact with De Zerbi and also getting a feel for how things work with the academy during his lay-off.

But he has been reinvigorated on the field by the Italian head coach and was revelling in an advanced role before injury struck.

Lallana’s highlights included a role in the 3-0 win over his old side Liverpool when the final margin could have been greater.

Jurgen Klopp smiled and applauded at full-time as he went across to shake De Zerbi’s hand.

Now, a few weeks on, Lallana has spoken about what that day meant to him.

He said: “I've got still got a lot of friends there. A lot of team-mates.

“That was a poignant moment for me this season, playing against my old team where we almost conquered the world.

“I know they were having a tough moment but to perform how we did against them, it was one of the moments where I went home that night and sat there and just really enjoyed it.

“I mean really enjoyed it - that performance, the way we won.

“You don't often get a chance to enjoy winning football matches when you're playing at Liverpool.

“You've always got to think about the next one in three days where, at the moment, we often have a game a week.

“There have been four or five times this season where I've come in on the Monday and you get the chance to think back about the game.

“And God, that was dominant, right? Let's enjoy it because it doesn't often happen.

“You know we're winning football matches in ways that don't often happen.

“And you just say to supporters that you enjoy it while it's here because it's not that normal to be performing like how we're performing at the moment.

“Of course, we'll look to get better and keep improving but the league is strong, every team is going to bounce, going to spend money.

“It feels like we're kind of ahead of the game.

“With the outlay we spend, we shouldn't be where we are now.

“It's because I think we do things differently, which is why we are where we are and that's why it's such an exciting place to be, an infrastructure to work for.

“Always looking outside the box and that that's why I'm so delighted to be here for another year and work and learn.”

Lallana says his former boss gave the new deal his own seal of approval as he keeps in touch with Jurgen Klopp and Jordan Henderson.

He added: “I speak to them all the time. I speak to Jordan every day, he's my best friend.

“I told Jurgen I was extending my contract here and he was like, ‘Of course, we know how good you are, your team are’.

“So that's the ultimate respect, I think.

“We need to keep striving to improve because there will be challenges ahead of us, for sure.

“We're not getting ahead of ourselves by any stretch of the imagination.”

Lallana joined the management team briefly when Andrew Crofts took interim charge following Graham Potter’s departure to Chelsea.

As it turned out, they did not work at a fixture as the season was halted.

Lallana has linked up with under-21s coach Shannon Ruth.

He said: “I'm doing my coaching badges and I feel like I'm expanding my knowledge and just growing whilst I'm still playing.

“I'm just taking sessions with different age groups. I formed a good relationship with Shannon and Crofty.

“Obviously I was interim coach for a couple of weeks so every now and again I'll go back and be with the 21 ones for a game.

“I just enjoy kind of seeing what it's like over the other side.

“Whilst I've been injured at the minute, I'm forever in with the manager and he's giving me access to what it's like over the other side.”

Lallana has enjoyed De Zerbi’s style of man-management.

But he also underlined how he had learned tactically – and why players have bought into the new boss’s methods en masse having lost their previous guiding light Potter so unexpectedly.

He said: “I just think level of detail in actions, in movements, in how you take the ball, weight of pass.

“It's very tactical in terms of what he wants from you.

“And it's not just one person in the team.

“Everyone needs to be following the parts to the precision that he wants and they're the demands, I suppose.

“It's not demands that I want you to run here or there, it's just follow his vision of football.

“And that's what's different. His philosophy is different to anyone I’ve worked with before, and you can probably see that when you watch his teams play.

“You know it looks like. A game of chess at times.

“But it's so exciting to work under him because you feel like you're learning different things constantly.

“The game is constantly evolving and there's no wrong way to play football, but this is the way he sees it and I think he's taken aback by the amount of us that are looking up to him and trying to follow his direction.

“As a manager, he’s probably proud of that.

“And I think that's why he's got such good feeling.”