'Getting more' – Gary Neville makes Roberto De Zerbi and Brighton claim after Graham Potter exit

The Italian was brought in to replace previous boss Graham Potter who joined Chelsea last month. Albion had enjoyed a flying start to the season and were fourth in the Premier League when Potter departed.

De Zerbi has so far recorded a point from his three matches in charge, following a 3-3 draw at Liverpool and then a narrow home 1-0 loss to an impressive Tottenham team.

Albion then suffered a 2-0 defeat to Brentford at the Gtech Community Stadium on Friday and slipped to seventh in the league.

The team have however played pretty well and the losses sustained by De Zerbi are ones that could just as easily have occurred during Potter’s time in charge.

Some fans have been quick to criticise the new boss and he will hope to get his first three points when the Seagulls welcome basement team Nottingham Forest to the Amex Stadium on Tuesday night.

Forest however, will be no soft touch as they already face an almighty scrap to maintain their top flight status following their promotion and a hectic transfer window.

Neville has seen some early signs that the De Zerbi era could as yet deliver improved results. De Zerbi was little known to many in the Premier League but he has an impressive body of work behind him in Serie A with Sassuolo and then in the Ukraine with Shakhtar Donetsk.

The 43-year-old is a far more intense and passionate figure compared with Potter and is already looking to make his stamp on this team. Training sessions and time on the pitch for the Albion players has increased, which Neville believes is already evident.

“I thought it would be a case of a new manager coming in and assessing the team in the first few weeks but it looks like he is intervening and stamping his authority on it,” said Neville speaking on Sky Sports’ Friday Night Football ahead of the 2-0 loss at Brentford.

"Training longer and a bit more tactical. But he seems like they are enjoying it. I have to say we did the Monday night football at Liverpool and it looked like they were playing really well.

"They always play great football. They always look well coached and a team that feels like it’s achieving it's maximum and that seems to be continuing under the new manager as well.”

He added: “Because of the stability at the club they can cope with a head coach moving. The clubs that are set up really well, a head coach can leave, a new one can come in and the train still stays on the track.

"[They are a] great example of how to run a football club and try to compete to stay in the Premier League. It is not easy to do. The amount of investment that has gone in from the owner.

“The stadium investments and everything like that they do things really well. There is a lot of data and analysis about which managers they look at. Listening to Paul Barber (Brighton chief executive) there, that does not surprise me that he talks of looking for a new manager as soon as one comes in.

"Already they are starting to think who is the next manager for the club. For De Zerbi, they looked at him two years ago and analysed it really well and how he is getting so much out of the players from the clubs he has been at and getting more out of them than perhaps he should be.

"Clubs like Brighton rely on that because they have not got the cash – not just the top six but also the middle parts of the league.”