Fabian Huerzeler says he is not surprised to see Yankuba Minteh make an early impact for Albion.

And, as for all players, he believes the key to progress lies on the training ground.

Minteh could start at Newcastle today against the club who reluctantly let him go for what could be bargain £30 million in the summer.

There was a feeling he might be one for the not-too-distant future but instead he has quickly taken to the Premier League, albeit with a few rough edges.

An exciting pre-season was followed by a superb assist on his debut, at Everton.

There have been ups and downs since then, but he produced a crisp finish last time out to spark the comeback against Tottenham.

Asked whether such early progress had surprised him, Huerzeler said: “No, it is for him the same as for Danny (Welbeck).

“These players who are stable in their body, who can train every day, who can go with the intensity, it is easier for them to play in the Premier League in every game and to adapt to different situations during the game.

“I think Minteh is still a very young player but he shows already his potential.

“Also, for players like this who are young, who are coming from a different club, we need to give him time.

“There will be development in waves so there will be ups and downs.

“We need to support him, especially when he has these downs.

“We are sure he will have a great impact fur us as a team.

“I am not surprised because he has a great attitude and a great work ethic.

“He shows it every training session and that is why I am not surprised how he performs in the games.”

The point being made on Tyneside this week was that Albion had been more far-sighted than Toon.

That is in terms both of how they saw Minteh specifically and also in more general terms and not backing themselves into a PSR corner in June.

Minteh is seen as the high-pressing type of right-sided player Eddie Howe still needs.

Asked whether that enthusiastic hassling of opponents was a big reason for Minteh’s playing time, Huerzeler instead preferred to look at daily efforts in Lancing.

One wondered in retrospect whether there was a more general message to his players wrapped up there.

He said: “The key is how you perform in training and how you accept the competition in our squad.

“If you don’t give your best in training, if you don’t give 100% in every training session, you don’t have any chance to play a game or to gain minutes in our team.

“That is why you have to push your limits, you have to be the best version every day and that is what he is trying to do.

“If you give your best every day, I accept also bad moments.

“I accept that you make mistakes because mistakes are part of the game.

“But then how is your reaction?

“Are you hiding afterwards, are you complaining about something?

“If you react like this, you won’t have any chance to play in the squad.

“It is all about the things you can influence.”

Minteh was one of several Albion players on international duty over the past fortnight, scoring a late equaliser and creating a winner in Gambia’s two hard-fought AFCON qualifiers against Madagascar.

Huerzeler said: “There are always advantages and disadvantages of an international break but, again, it’s the schedule and we have to accept it and try to make the best out of it.

“Now it’s about getting back all the players as quickly as possible, trying to immediately bring into their minds what the identity of Brighton is.

“They experience different things in all the different national teams. When we come together we immediately try to build this identity again, what we had before.

“It’s a short time before the match against Newcastle but I’m sure we will manage this in a good way. Now we try to get the mindset in the right way to be ready for this tough game.”