 Brighton entered this season having finished in a play-off position in both seasons prior, twice going out in the semi-finals.A new manager, Sami Hyypiä, had been appointed following Óscar Garcia's resignation in the previous season after bowing out of the play-offs to Derby County.A sense of optimism presided the beginning of the season, however it would have a drastically different outcome than was anticipated, as Brighton languished towards the bottom of the Championship table for much of the campaign.