Brighton's Hurzeler slammed for behaviour by Saints boss

Albion’s clash against the Saints ended in a 1-1 draw, with Flynn Downes’ strike cancelling out Kaoru Mitoma’s first-half opener.

However, it was the tensions between the managers on the sidelines that caught the attention.

After the game, the pair both claimed that respect was “important” to have for the two of them.

Tensions were high between Russell Martin and Fabian Hurzeler on the touchline on Friday evening (Image: PA) But Martin did make a dig at Hurzeler’s behaviour on the touchline as he disagreed with the “level” the Albion boss was attempting to get the Southampton players booked.

He said: “The number of times in the opposition dugout that he asked for a booking for one of our players.

"I've never known it to be to that level. But it's no problem.

“We're both trying to win, so it's no problem." 

Albion finished the game with midfielders Matt O’Riley and Mats Wieffer going into the referee's book.

The visitors saw four yellow cards come their way, with goalscorer Downes, Kyle Walker-Peters, Taylor Harwood-Bellis and Tyler Dibling all being cautioned.

This was despite Southampton giving away four fewer than Albion’s 20 fouls in the match.

The draw saw Albion extend their unbeaten run to three games ahead of the visit to Craven Cottage to face Fulham on Thursday.

The two previous results saw the club pick up 2-1 victories over Bournemouth and Manchester City.

Hurzeler's side is currently fourth in the Premier League table, with equal points to the reigning champions.

Southampton, however, remain stuck to the bottom of the league with just five points, four away from safety.

The Saints host Chelsea in their next match on Wednesday evening as pressure continues to mount on Martin.