Tony Bloom says Albion have an appetite for more European football - after celebrating their first season on the international stage.

The club’s debut campaign in the UEFA Europa League is being marked at Brighton and Hove Museum.

Albion chairman Bloom helped open the exhibition on, appropriately, a Thursday evening.

Thursdays were special for the club in 2023-24 as they played eight games in the competition, securing top spot in their group along the way.

Current head coach Fabian Huerzeler would love to take them back into Europe.

Bloom said: “It has certainly given everyone at the club an appetite for more.

“We are delighted with Fabian’s start and we don’t want this to be a one-off.

“We have huge ambitions as a club to carry on.

“There is so much support from the people in the city and our fans and we want to make this a regular thing that we get into Europe.

“We know how tough it is. The Premier League is by far and away the toughest league in the world.

“To get in those European spots was really difficult but we have big ambitions.

“We are delighted the trustees of Brighton Museum have honoured our achievements with this brilliant exhibition in one of the city’s iconic venues.

“The pride the city has in the football club is really important.

“It is not just the financial benefit that everyone in the city gets from being a Premier League club.

“But so many people, even who are not football fans, they know of the club.

“They don’t go to watch games but they knot the vibe around the city is so good.

“We know how tough it is for people at the moment.

“It is a huge honour that we can bring people such joy on a week-to-week basis.

“Even when don’t have good results, the fact we are in the league and playing great football, we will continue to work hard to bring success to the football club, to bring success to the city, so that people can go about their lives with an extra smile on their face.

“I know how important that is.”

Albion played home and away against AEK of Athens, Ajax of Amsterdam, Olympique de Marseille and AS Roma.

Fans relished the away trips and there was always a special atmosphere at the Amex, with Bloom rating Joao Pedro’s late winner against Marseille one of the highlights of recent years.

Both the chairman and his deputy and chief executive Paul Barber highlighted the benefits of playing in Europe to the city as a whole.

Barber said: “It gave our fans a wonderful opportunity to play in some of the most iconic cities in Europe and gave our fans a wonderful opportunity to travel. It also provided a wonderful opportunity for our staff.

“The opportunity to stage professional football matches at the American Express Stadium is a real challenge for people who work in football.

“I was so proud of what the staff achieved.

“And for the fans it was the dream of a lifetime.

“When you have experienced that once, you really want it again and again and again.

“Not only did it help the football club and our status in the game, it also helps lift the status of this city.

“That is something that makes us all very proud.”

The exhibition includes match shirts, memorabilia and photos from on and off the pitch taken by Paul Hazlewood and Danny Last.

It runs from today until March 31 and is included in the cost of museum admission.

Current Albion season and match ticket holders and club members are eligible for discount.