Vidošić highlights importance of Brighton maintaining standards against Nottingham Forest | OneFootball

Brighton & Hove Albion head coach Dario Vidošić says that his side must go into this weekend’s Adobe Women’s FA Cup fourth round tie against Nottingham Forest with the right mindset and that standards must not drop.

The Seagulls play host to The Tricky Trees at Broadfield Stadium on Sunday afternoon.

As the top tier side, Brighton & Hove Albion go into the tie as favourites to progress but Vidošić says that Nottingham Forest cannot be taken lightly.

“They’re a good team,” Vidošić said when speaking in the pre-match press conference. “They want to try to build-up and try to lock on when we will be building-up. They’re quite organised and close down space, they work really hard, so we know it’s going to be tough. 

“If we’ve learned anything from the League Cup campaign it’s that it doesn’t matter where the teams are coming from. They’re going to be right up for it, it’s the FA Cup, playing a WSL opponent, so they’re going to work and make it the toughest game that we can possibly get. If we are not there, it’ll be very tough to progress.”

Some say that the gap between the Barclays Women’s Super League and Barclays WSL2 clubs is narrowing slightly. Vidošić tends to agree, although he believes that Brighton & Hove Albion are in control of their own destiny when it comes to avoiding an FA Cup upset.

He said “It’s fair to say [the gap is closing] if you look at the results and performances but it’s going to be up to us. We want to try and play our way, try to dominate the game. 

“It’s about mindset. If we think even for a second that it’s going to be slightly easier because we are playing a team from a lower division, we are going to be in big trouble.”

Brighton & Hove Albion are still in the hunt for a first trophy or major domestic cup final appearance. Vidošić says that the FA Cup is a tournament that the club can get excited about.

He said “That’s the club’s ambition [to win a trophy] and my ambition as well. It’s another competition where there’s a trophy to play for, a very prestigious trophy. It’s the last game of the season at Wembley, so it’s got everything to get you really excited. 

“As a footballer, as coaches, as a club, as supporters, we are really looking forward to getting our campaign underway but we know we’ve got a tough opponent in-front of us.”

Brighton & Hove Albion’s Adobe Women’s FA Cup fourth round tie against Nottingham Forest kicks-off at 1pm on Sunday afternoon. Tickets remain on general sale and can be purchased by clicking here.