Elliott Bennett opens up on his time at and departure from Brighton

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The 28-year-old winger spent two seasons at Brighton, but the club holds a special place in his heart.

Former Brighton & Hove Albion star Elliott Bennett had a wonderful couple of years at Brighton, a stint he describes as a “fantastic part of my life”, but ultimately says he has no regrets over leaving the club for then Premier League side Norwich City in 2011.

Speaking exclusively to HITC Sport, Bennett discussed his time at Brighton, his other former clubs and his current struggles at Blackburn. The former Wolves trainee really kickstarted his career at Brighton, and earned particular plaudits in 2010-11 when the club won the League One title.

Bennett told HITC Sport he enjoyed his time on the south coast immensely, and only the lure of Premier League football was enough to tempt him away, having just signed a new deal with the Seagulls, and with the club set to play Championship football and move into the Amex Stadium.

Elliott Bennett celebrates promotion at Brighton & Hove Albion

When asked if it was a tough decision to leave Brighton back in 2011 and whether he ever regrets the move, Bennett replied, “Brighton was a fantastic part of my life and a fantastic chapter of my career, I loved every minute of it.”

“When we won the title there League One was full of teams who are now flying, you look at Southampton, Bournemouth and Huddersfield, it was a strong League One that year, and we played some fantastic stuff.”

“The stadium coincided with promotion and I’d just signed a new contract. I think I would have stayed there for many years had it not been a Premier League move, but I don’t regret moving to Norwich. When an opportunity like that comes you have to take it as a player. You don’t know if it will come again.”

Elliott Bennett in action for Norwich U21’s vs Tottenham U21’s

It was an opportunity Bennett took in the summer of 2011, joining Norwich City for a fee of £1.9 million, and it initially appeared to be a match made in heaven. The Canaries finished 12th in the Premier League in Bennett’s first season at Carrow Road, where he made 24 appearances in all competitions, and they followed that up with an 11th placed finish the following season.

It wasn’t all plain sailing for the 28-year-old who now finds himself at Blackburn though. In August 2013 he suffered a serious knee ligament issue which ruled him out for virtually the entire season, whilst Norwich were relegated in 2014 and Bennett left the club in 2016.

During our interview with the former Seagulls star, who was named in the League One Team of the Year in 2010-11, we asked him how he rated Brighton’s current manager Chris Hughton, who he previously worked under at Norwich.

Bennett had nothing but praise for Brighton boss Chris Hughton

“As a man; one of the most genuine in the industry, he really stands out. As a manager; you can’t really argue with his record. I think everyone thought he was harshly sacked at Newcastle and he finished midtable in the Premier League at Norwich.”

“So you can’t really argue with his record at all three clubs [Newcastle, Norwich and Brighton]. Some may say he’s negative, but I think he’s more organised than negative.”

When asked what he made of Hughton’s current Brighton team and their promotion credentials, Bennett told us, “I think Brighton are magnificent; like we said, Hughton is super organised and he’s made some fantastic signings.”

Bennett praised Brighton’s signing of Glenn Murray

“Glenn Murray particularly, but also Shane Duffy is a fantastic defender, so they’ve got a strong spine and they’re really compact with a sprinkling of quality. I can’t see them not being up there.”

It was a glowing assessment of both Brighton and Hughton, and not too dissimilar to the thoughts of Bennett’s former Seagulls teammate Gary Dicker, who also backed the club to win promotion to the Premier League in an interview with HITC Sport just over a week ago.

Bennett’s Blackburn Rovers team recently faced Hughton’s rampant Brighton side, and came close to an upset at Ewood Park, before falling to a 3-2 defeat, one of three consecutive 3-2 defeats the club has suffered during their current rut.