Brighton boss Graham Potter admits his side’s recent form has caused “some suffering and pain”.
The Seagulls have lost their last six Premier League matches to slip into the bottom half of the table.
With an 11-point advantage over the bottom three they still seem unlikely to be pulled into a relegation battle, but the slump has undermined a positive first half of the campaign.
Yet Potter feels the recent international break came at a good time and is relishing the return to action against bottom side Norwich at the Amex Stadium on Saturday.
Potter said at a press conference: “We try to be honest and we know we’re in a bit of a run that is not nice and has caused us some suffering and some pain.
“If you asked us whether we want to win, of course we would, but you have to face it, you have to be honest and analyse why it’s happened.
“There’s been no throwing people under the bus, there’s been no pointing the blame. There has been a collective ‘We can do better here’, including myself more than anybody. Then it’s about trying to find the solutions and trying to work together.
“You can’t do anything about when the international breaks come and you’ve just got to make the best of them. Sometimes you want to carry on playing and sometimes you have to go, ‘Phew, it’s probably come at a good time’.
“I think the last one came at a good time for us, if we’re honest. It’s about how you use it.
“You can’t do anything about the internationals but they’ve all had good experiences, I think, and the guys that were here worked really, really well. It is the best training we’ve had in terms of an international break.
“So there’s a feeling that we’re looking forward to the game. It doesn’t guarantee you anything but it’s got a meaning from a mentality perspective.”
Brighton will again be without Adam Webster and Adam Lallana this weekend.
Defender Webster has endured an injury-hit campaign and is currently sidelined with a groin problem while former England midfielder Lallana has been out with further hamstring trouble.
Potter said: “Adam Webster had a small setback before the international break. He is not too far away but not available for the weekend.
“Adam Lallana has been training but not quite fully. We think he’ll be more fully training next week so, again, he’ll miss the game.”
Argentina international Alexis Mac Allister should be available despite being on the end of a poor challenge in a World Cup qualifier in Ecuador on Tuesday.
“There’s been nothing severely flagged to me so it’s just a case of it being a knock,” said Potter. “He’s quite durable, Alexis.”
Potter added that Moises Caicedo, who was on the Ecuador side in that game, was forced to delay his return to Brighton due to illness and is unavailable this weekend.
