Aaron Hughes has revealed that the prospect of helping a club reach the Premier League was the reason behind his move to Brighton & Hove Albion.
The 34-year-old became Sami Hyypia's first signing earlier this week following his release by Queens Park Rangers, and he is excited about his future under the Finnish coach.
"This is a club that is set up to get into the Premier League – it has the players to do it and they have come close the last couple of years," Hughes told The Argus.
"With the manager here, who has impressed in Germany, I just get the feel it is going to be a good year for the club and I thought I would like to be a part of something.
"I just had to get a feel for what I wanted to do and I would love to get back into the Premier League again and I saw this as an opportunity to do that, and not only go up but stay up."
Brighton, who reached the playoff semi-finals last season, begin the new campaign against Sheffield Wednesday on August 9.
