“Building takes time”: Ruiz on Brighton progress | OneFootball

Brighton & Hove Albion head coach Arturo Ruiz believes his side are beginning to show signs of the identity he wants to build, but insists patience will be essential as the Seagulls prepare to host Aston Villa on Sunday.

Ruiz only arrived shortly before the start of the competitive campaign and is attempting to implement his ideas during an intense run of fixtures, with Brighton facing five matches in 15 days. Despite that challenge, the Spaniard has already seen progress.

“It was the third week coaching together,” Ruiz said. “Really good confidence, clarity and working, but we also need to know that the path is going to be, I don’t know if medium or long, but what I mean is that we need time because three weeks is no time for all the things that we’re going to build. We need to keep [being] patient, obviously knowing that we are playing official games, and we are playing five official games in 15 days.”

The early stages of that process were visible in Brighton’s comeback against Birmingham City, where they recovered from two goals down to earn a point.

Ruiz believes the reaction demonstrated an important mentality within his squad.

“It was really important to get the first point, and above everything, we just trusted until the end,” he said. “We got two difficult moments receiving the goals, but I think that we dominated with the ball in a lot of situations. Obviously, we have a lot of things to improve, to learn, to build, and we are aware of it.”

Brighton’s substitutes had a significant influence on the game, with Ruiz acknowledging that preparation is important but the match itself ultimately dictates decisions.

“One of the key things that I’ve learned really fast is that you need to have clarity on the substitutions, the potential substitutions that you want to have, but then the game speaks on its own,” he explained.

“Until the game kicks off, a coach cannot make a decision. You need to get ready and visualise what you think each player that is on the bench can give to you. But then the game has demands, and then you make decisions because you think that any player can give us a lot. I think the substitutions the other day gave us a lot, and I’m really happy that happened in our second game.”

For Ruiz, however, Brighton’s development cannot be reduced to individuals.

Asked whether the changes against Birmingham helped provide more support around Madison Haley in attack, he stressed that the entire structure must function together.

“We need time to get the game style, the movements, how we need to support the 10 players, the 11,” he said. “But the 11 is not Maddie, the 11 is all of them. We need to be very coordinated, and it’s about time. It’s training session, it’s practice, it’s game, it’s analysis, it’s process. It’s the only thing that we need. We only need time, and we only need a good learning process.”

That does not mean Brighton are able to ignore results. Ruiz is acutely aware of the demands of elite football and the expectation to turn progress into points quickly.

“We know otherwise that we don’t have time because a lot of games are coming and we are a high-performance team that needs to get results as soon as possible,” he said. “The club has the focus very clear. We all know the situation that we have, that it’s a coach change just before the kick-off of the official games. There are no excuses. We just need to keep building and do our best.”

Ruiz expanded on that balance between patience and performance later in his press conference.

“I am the first that wants to win every single game,” he said. “But I am the one that also thinks that we need to give time to the players to understand everything and work hand in hand together because, in the medium-long term, it is the key. I’m really happy with how everything is developing, and I hope that the results come soon because that will help that process and accelerate it.”

At the heart of that process is the playing identity Ruiz wants Brighton to develop.

Asked what supporters should immediately recognise when watching his team, the head coach offered a detailed picture.

“Having a lot of clarity with the ball, how to progress according to how our rival presses us each game,” he said. “Having a clear intention in the transitions when we lose the ball and when we recover. We need to be very clear how to press, how to counter-press, how to defend in the box in the times that we need to run back to do recovery runs. After recovering it, give a lot of continuity to the game because it’s key, and be vertical all the times that we can be.”

Without possession, Ruiz wants the same level of clarity.

“We need to know how to press, the spaces that we need to close, and all those kinds of triggers and situations that we need to press to recover the ball with a lot of clarity. Then we need to be very strong at set pieces because we all know that in this country, in this league and in the three competitions that we are playing, they are absolutely key. We are working on it as hard as we can.”

Ruiz believes Brighton have already improved in several areas during his first weeks in charge.

“In all the moments of the game, in the confidence, in the clarity, in the relationships that we are building,” he said. “The main one is that the whole team is going in the same direction. We learned a lot of things from our second game in Birmingham. We made a great analysis. The energy has been really good in these four days that we’ve been together after the game. We’re really looking forward to keeping building and obviously doing a solid game on Sunday.”

That next challenge comes against Aston Villa.

Ruiz is expecting a much different contest to the one Villa faced against Chelsea and Manchester City, where they spent extended periods defending deep.

“Three of the rivals that they have closely faced are Olympique Lyonnais, Manchester City and Chelsea, so we all know what they mean in women’s football,” he said. “I don’t expect an Aston Villa that is under pressure that low. We need to be aware that they can defend very compact because they feel very comfortable in that way, and even if they press higher, we need to be really aware and have a lot of clarity on those two scenarios.”

Ruiz believes his side are prepared for either approach.

“I think that we have it, and I hope that we can do a really good game if either of those two scenarios happen,” he said. “Aston Villa have been very competitive in all these games and the other ones that they played in preseason.”

Sunday will also see Ruiz come up against fellow Spanish coach Natalia Arroyo, someone he knows from their previous meetings.

“We know each other,” he said. “Last week we were in Birmingham, and I texted her. We have a good professional relationship. We haven’t met a lot of times, but we have a good relationship from the times that we have met. It’s also going to be a beautiful game because two Spanish coaches are facing each other, so it’s going to be a good game.”

Ruiz was also full of praise for the Villa boss.

“I absolutely respect everything, and I think she is doing a great job all the time here,” he said. “She knows the league perfectly. She’s been here for a long time. She deserves it. She’s a really good coach, and I wish her all the best in all the games except on Sunday.”

Ruiz himself is still learning about English football, although he stressed that understanding the people inside Brighton remains an even greater priority.

“My priority is obviously knowing about the league and English football,” he said. “But I think that for me, it’s bigger knowing about my teammates, about the club, about the team, because being strong inside is what is going to let us be strong outside in the league and in the competition. I am putting all my focus and all my energy into the people that we have inside the club and building good working relationships and good personal relationships.”

On the pitch, he has already noticed how quickly teams must adapt in the WSL.

“The rhythm, the differences that are between all the games are huge, so you need to keep adapting all the time,” Ruiz said. “Obviously, building an identity behind that without having time in preseason to do it. But the level is absolutely high here. Each detail can make the difference in every single game, and we need to count on them from the very first moments because there are no excuses.”

And despite the scale of the change Brighton are currently navigating, Ruiz believes the energy around the squad is exactly what the team needs.

“The energy, predisposition and everything that all of us are giving to the team are exactly what the team needs,” he said. “Really happy about that, and those changes are always positive.”

The task now is turning those early signs into a complete performance against Villa.

“We always have time, and we give our 100% to get ready the best that we can for every single game,” Ruiz said. “It’s going to be a really hard one because Aston Villa are a really good team. We’re really looking forward to facing them and doing our best and, hopefully, getting three points in our stadium.”