Brighton & Hove Albion have handed Manager Gus Poyet a new four-year deal after an impressive start to his career at the Withdean Stadium.

The former Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur midfielder took over the Seagulls in November 2009, with the team fifth from bottom of the League 1. He guided them to 13th place in May, winning 15 games.

Poyet and his assistant Mauricio Taricco signed the new deals at the Club's training base in Portugal and after putting pen to paper he spoke to www.seagulls.co.uk: "I'm delighted that Tano and I have signed these new deals.

"It gives us the possibility of looking ahead with a different perspective. It is very different to be planning with four years ahead of you, than if you only have one year left on a contract.

"As a Manager this was my ambition: to find a place to stay for the long term, so I would like to thank the Chairman and Directors for giving me the possibility of working at this fantastic club for the next four years."

Chairman Tony Bloom added:"When we appointed Gus, we believed he would prove himself to be one of the best up-and-coming Managers, and we are pleased he has already shown that, so naturally we are delighted to have agreed a new deal with him.

"Mauricio's new deal reflects Gus's in terms of length; they arrived together, and are a managerial duo. They work extremely well together and make an extremely good managerial team, so it was natural for both contracts to be done at the same time."

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