'Everyone is on cloud nine and we can kick on again'

Defender Adam Webster believes Brighton can go "one step further" and "kick on again" next season after the Seagulls qualified for Europe.

Boss Roberto de Zerbi joined the club in September following the departure of Graham Potter - who had guided Albion to a ninth-placed finish in 2021-22 - to Chelsea.

The positive changes under the former Shakhtar Donetsk and Sassuolo manager have come from the new "style of play" and "mentality", according to Webster.

"Everyone is on cloud nine at the minute. If you were to say this to us at the start of the season, everyone would have snapped your hand off," Webster told BBC Radio Sussex, external.

"It shows how far we have come in such a short period of time. Thursday night [against Newcastle] was always going to be a tricky one, but I think everyone knew coming into this how big it was.

"If you were to say this would happen at the start of the season I would have called you a liar and I wouldn’t have believed you.

"He [De Zerbi] has taken us to another level with his style of play and mentality - that is the biggest part of it. He has got us believing that we can do it.

"We are going to have a whole pre-season with him, which is going to be massive for us with a few new players coming in.

"Next season, we will really be believing we can go one step further and kick on again."