FABIAN HURZELER has been training HYROX to let off steam amid Brighton’s rough patch.
The 32-year-old Brighton boss was hit with boos from fans after the club’s 1-0 loss to bitter rivals Crystal Palace on Sunday.
The result has left the Seagulls with just one win in 12, with that win coming at home to Burnley at the start of January.
In their past 11 league games, Brighton have only twice scored more than once ahead of travelling to Aston Villa tonight.
SunSport understands that Seagulls owner Tony Bloom is keeping his faith in Hurzeler and has no plans to axe him any time soon.
Hurzeler could not ignore the boos against Palace though, and he has been completing gruelling Hyrox workouts with his coaching staff to help him stay calm.
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Hyrox is an indoor fitness competition that combines 8km of running with eight functional workout stations like lunges, sled pushes and wall balls.
He said: “I have great staff members and at the moment we’re trying to train hard, to fulfil a Hyrox together with Gary Walker. (head of performance).
“It’s always good to have staff members around you who want to work hard in the gym, who want to push you.
“It’s important to have a little bit of distraction. I have great assistant coaches who have a lot of energy, who can play a good round of padel too,
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“So I’m really appreciative of the people working behind me, doing work in the shadows, they gave me a lot of energy and support these last days.
“I maybe spend more time with them than with my family, but I really appreciate them.”
When asked if he would take part in an actual Hyrox competition, he said: “Sure, at the moment I’m focused on getting the right results (in football), and then I have to get into a good shape.
“If I’m in good shape, then maybe I’d do one but first of all I need to get in a good shape, otherwise it will be really bad.”
Hurzeler confirmed Jan Paul van Hecke is available after a hamstring injury and there are no new injuries for the Villa match.
The Brighton boss was also asked about reports that captain Lewis Dunk turned down a potential move to Nottingham Forest.
He said: “Lewis and I have a good relationship. I need him here, I need him as a leader.
“I really appreciate that he stays here and that he keeps fighting. That was his words and I really appreciate his performances after these kinds of rumours.”