Joel Veltman says Albion's tough Euro lessons will pay off this season.
But they are having to make some big adjustments – including himself.
The Seagulls dug into reserves of energy to equalise, and almost win, at home to Liverpool on Sunday.
Veltman is a veteran of European campaigns with Ajax.
But even he says the demands of recent weeks have taken some getting used to.
Veltman said: “It’s the first time for the club, so we need to get used to it – including me.
“The last time I played a European game was with Ajax five years ago so it’s really tough.
“Maybe we underestimated how difficult it is, playing on Monday and Thursday, the travelling to Marseille and getting back late, then training on the Friday afternoon.
Veltman was happy enough with the 2-2 draw against Liverpool which took Albion into the international break.
But he knows boss Roberto De Zerbi was keen for them to grab all three points.
He said: “We’ve shown a couple of times, like we did in Marseille, that we’ve got plenty of character.
“We wanted to push and the gaffer was like ‘come on, come on!’ but, to be honest, the energy was quite low.
“You felt in the team we wanted to, but the next step for us is that energy.
“We didn’t quite have it because of the game on Thursday but 2-2 is a great result.”
Albion have made frequent team changes in recent weeks but Veltman believes that will reap rewards as the campaign progresses.
He said: “We have to get past those early pains at the beginning of the season and, if you manage that well, then you will profit from it later on in the season.”
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