Only Manchester City and Chelsea have won more points in the Women’s Super League this season than Brighton, whose 10 points from five games is their best ever return this early on.
Avoid defeat against Leicester this weekend, and they will go four home games unbeaten for the first time in top-flight history – made even more impressive by the fact that Dario Vidosic, having never managed in the WSL before, is only four months into his new job.
Vidosic became Brighton’s fourth permanent head coach in less than two years when appointed in July, and the sixth person to take charge of the team in that time.
The club were crying out for some stability, and appear to have found it in the former Australian international, who only retired from playing in 2022.
“We’re happy with the start but there’s still many hurdles in our way,” he exclusively tells Sky Sports, from Brighton’s Lancing-based training ground. “That’s the beauty of this league, it’s very hard, but we’re on a good path.”
In 2022, Brighton outlined their plans to break into the WSL’s top four, having spent £8.5m on a state-of-the-art training facility for the women’s team, but their best WSL performance to date remains a – highly respectable – sixth place finish in 2020-21.
Fast forward to 2024, and the Seagulls sit joint-third, levels on points with Manchester United. And it’s not only the results that have caught the eye. Akin to the Brighton blueprint, Vidosic is a young coach with a progressive outlook, who favours an attractive style of football.
He cites Pep Guardiola, Ange Postecoglou and Roberto De Zerbi as positive influences on the ideas he’s formed about the philosophy of high-intensity football.
And it’s making quite the impression. Only Man City and Arsenal have recorded more open play sequences with 10+ passes than Brighton (60), with clear identity at the heart of everything the former Melbourne City coach wants to engender.
“We’re learning as the season goes, we’re still very much in a process of understanding, and trying to give the players as many answers as possible,” he continues.
“This is only my third season as a head coach, and so sometimes I might contradict myself because I’ve seen a scenario differently, but we’re true to a certain way of playing.
“I’m very fortunate that the players want information and that keeps me busy, because I want to have the answers and a clear idea of how to play.”
Testament to Brighton’s impressive start, Vidosic is the latest recipient of the Barclays Manager of the Month prize – something he calls the “team of the month award”.
Every answer he gives is well considered and measured, but equally, it’s clear the 37-year-old has designs on breaking the proverbial glass ceiling. During his first press conference Vidosic told reporters that he believes “every team should aim to be champion”, and five games into his tenure, ambition has not shifted.
“If you solely have a survival mentality it makes life hard,” he continues. “We prepare all week to try to find positive outcomes, otherwise there would be no point to training. We prepare to win. We want to make life as difficult as possible for the other 11 teams.
“I don’t want to douse the fire with cold water, if the fans are dreaming of us challenging and being at the top, I don’t want to say we won’t. We want to do that and put our place in history, and it’s a nice ambition, but it’s all a process.”
Central to that has been the maturity with which Brighton have approached early-season games. They have named the oldest starting XIs (28y 130d) by average age, anchored by a core group of established WSL stars, including Maria Thorisdottir, Fran Kirby and Nikita Parris.
“It’s been awesome,” Vidosic says, with the latter two a big reason why Brighton have so far outperformed champions Chelsea for overall expected goals (albeit Chelsea top the charts for xG differential), and have the second-best shot conversion rate in the league.
“It’s almost like they are just starting their careers because of their hunger to learn and desire to win,” he adds. “They are going to play a big part for us.”
Now to the hard part. Brighton’s start has no doubt caused a stir but the real demand comes with sustaining such an impressive level, while committing to the brand of football Vidosic holds dear. A fire has clearly been lit and it’s translating wonderfully well on the pitch.
How long can it be maintained?