Lewis Dunk teased Brighton fans at the latest Premier League Darts event by holding up a sign poking fun at manager Fabian Hurzeler.
The Seagulls defender attended the event in Brighton to witness Luke Littler’s greatness and two nine-dart finishes.
Littler secured his second night victory of the year with a 6-3 win in the final against Nathan Aspinall.
During the match, Dunk showed the camera a sign with Hurzeler ‘out’ and ‘in’ crossed out multiple times to read ‘Hurzeler IN’.
The injured captain wanted to ridicule fans of the Seagulls who have been fickle in their support of Hurzeler.
Brighton have seemingly endured a rocky season as the German progresses through his maiden Premier League term.
Fans began to show their dismay during an eight-match winless streak that stretched from November to January.
The Seagulls most notably were thrashed 7-0 by Nottingham Forest last month as they dropped to 10th – their lowest position of the campaign.
Supporters online called for Hurzeler to be sacked and some went as far to demand Roberto De Zerbi returns.
But the Forest defeat inspired a spectacular run of five successive wins which has pushed Brighton into 8th.
Hurzeler’s team also defeated Newcastle 2-1 in the FA Cup to earn a chance of revenge against Forest in the quarter-finals.
The German head coach has led his side through recent success despite several injuries to key players such as James Milner, Joel Veltman and Ferdi Kadioglu.
And Hurzeler revealed he was also watching the darts – albeit from afar – on Thursday night.
The Brighton boss said: “This morning, I went into the building and my voice was cracking and suffering and I immediately said I wasn’t at the darts.
“I was not there cheering for Luke Littler but I’m a big fan of this sport and I’ve (been) already to the Ally Pally and follow how they’re playing.
“I think it’s an amazing talent, an amazing show what they do…
“You see how many people follow it, it’s a magnet.
“I’m always happy if the players relax together and do things together, I think darts is a great social event for having fun together.
“I saw some pictures and videos today in the morning and I’m happy we have this social bond in this team, not only with players, but some staff members were there as well and enjoyed the evening.
“That’s what we need to create here, this social bond between each other, this togetherness.
“You can’t create it by artificial events, you do it by natural evenings by having one, two, three, four beers and having a good mood.
“Therefore, I’m happy that the players enjoyed it and the staff members who were there.”
Brighton with the possibility of moving into 6th will face 9th place Fulham on Saturday.
