Friday 9 December 2016 19:52, UK
Anthony Knockaert says he could stay at Brighton for the rest of his life after the support the club gave him following the death of his father last month.
Brighton's players put on a public show of support for Knockaert during their 2-0 win at Bristol City and the squad also travelled to France to attend the funeral.
The Seagulls kick off '10 in 10' - 10 live Sky Bet EFL games in 10 days on Sky Sports - at the Amex against Leeds on Friday night and Knockaert told Sky Sports he hopes to thank the club by helping get them into the Premier League, as well as wanting to make his late father proud.
"Because of what the club did for me, I could stay here all my life," he said. "My dad was special for me, we had the closest relationship, I was always talking to him and he was always behind me.
"The support when he passed away was something I'll never forget, and as I say this football club is just amazing. I still don't know how to say thank you to them. All I can do is make them happy, do the job on the pitch and try to get promoted.
"It's always a tough moment for a football player to have this happen during their career and obviously I didn't expect it because my dad was still okay two months ago, and no one saw what was going on and what would happen.
"But all the support of the club and my team-mates was something special. I told them when I came back I didn't know how to say thank you to them because it was just incredible what they did. They came all the way from England to the funeral and I'll never forget it.
"It was something special and I don't think I could see that anywhere else, it was real support from them and especially for my family, they were really happy about that."
Brighton celebrated their opening goal at Bristol City last month, a 50-yard stunner by Steve Sidwell, by lifting up a shirt in support of Knockaert, who admitted that the gesture made him cry when he saw it on TV.
"I was watching with my brothers and I cried straightaway because it was really, really nice. It was something I'll remember all my life. It's been a tough, tough time for me but, as I say to the lads, I need to stay strong for my dad, because he had always been proud of me and I need to make him even more proud now.
"That's all I've got in my mind now, every day I need to think about him and get stronger and stronger. Obviously my goal at the start of the season was getting promoted with Brighton, but even more now.
"When I know the love that my dad brought for football, it was really something special. Every day he was pushing me forward and telling me to work really hard, and it's because of him I'm here now, so obviously I need to give him back all he brought to me."
Knockaert has, understandably, struggled for form since his return to the pitch, and admitted he has suffered mentally in the past few weeks.
"I won't lie, the worst for me now is mentally," he said. "Every day when I wake up, it's really hard to say to myself: 'that's the reality'. But physically I will come back better and better, I just need to get a few games in a row to get my fitness back. I don't have a problem with that.
"Just thinking about it every day is not easy at all. I say it was the toughest moment for me in my life, but with time I will be better mentally as well. I just have to wait for the right moment mentally to push forward."
Brighton are just a single point behind Championship leaders Newcastle, and can go top of the table if they beat Leeds on Friday. Knockaert hopes they can claim the three points that will take them a little bit closer to the Premier League.
"It's obviously a massive game for us," he said. "We're in a very good position in the league and we want to keep going. The team spirit has always been unbelievable and we're going to keep this with us, we know if we want to get promoted you have to work as hard as you can.
"It's always tough against Leeds, but if we don't win the game it's our problem and not the opponent because with the quality we have we're good enough to win every game.
"We need to keep up what we're doing at the moment and keep strong because we're unbeaten in 13, which shows how good we are."
Brighton and Leeds kick off 10 in 10 - Sky Sports' marathon of live football from the Sky Bet EFL. For all the latest news, previews, interviews and features visit www.skysports.com/10in10
