Nineteen-year-old Dean Cox is attracting rave reviews following an explosive start to the season with Brighton and Hove Albion. The Seagulls are absolutely flying at the moment, having won seven on the spin, their latest success coming in midweek at Millwall - albeit thanks to their greater composure in the penalty shoot-out. Cox is also another addition to the growing PMA Player Management Agency and givemefootball's Ian Clarkson caught up with him for an update on his progress.
Q:YOU MUST BE DELIGHTED WITH THE WAY THE SEASON IS GOING?
A:Well, it's going better than I could have dreamed of. I would have been reasonably happy to have been a bit-part player so far this season, but I've played in every game, so it's fair to say that it's going well on a personal note. And with the team doing so well, everyone at the club is buzzing at the moment.
Q:HAVE YOU BEEN WITH BRIGHTON LONG?
A:I've been with Brighton since the age of seven. I progressed through the centre of excellence and was awarded a scholarship and it has all taken off from there. I'm a Sussex boy, I only live 15 minutes away, so they are my local club.
Q:WOULD YOU CONSIDER BRIGHTON TO BE A 'BIG CLUB IN WAITING'?
A:I think so. Obviously, a lot depends on whether or not we can get the new ground. It's a question of keeping our fingers crossed and hopefully it will be sorted sooner rather than later.
Q:HOW WOULD YOU ASSESS THE SEASON SO FAR?
A:We started off quite slowly but we have really picked up in the past few games. We have got a new manager at the club in Dean Wilkins and he's got new ideas. I think one of the big plus points has been the number of young players who have come in and done better than expected over the past couple of months. When we were relegated, from the Championship the season before last, the club went through a major change.
Q:THE CLUB'S YOUTH SYSTEM WOULD SEEM TO BE WORKING RATHER WELL?
A:In all I think there have been about 12 players from our youth team who signed professional forms and we know each other and we each know each other's games as well. There's probably a bit more confidence about us because we are familiar with one another. There's some good banter flying about, anyway!
Q:WHO ELSE HAS CAUGHT THE EYE THIS SEASON?
A:Jake Robinson and Dean Hammond are two of my teammates who probably won't ever forget the fact that I used their names to answer this question!
Q:IT'S BEEN SUGGESTED SOUTHAMPTON AND PORTSMOUTH ARE MONITORING YOUR PROGRESS. HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT THAT?
A:I don't know about that! All I'm interested in is playing regularly and improving with Brighton at the moment and helping us to win games. I just want to keep playing in the first team and winning games. Our form has been a bit indifferent. I suppose that is partly due to the fact that we have a young side but I think we can reach the play-offs. After that, who knows?
