BySimon Griver, Simon Griver
Beram Kayal insists he is in the form of his life and dreaming about guiding Brighton & Hove Albion into the Premier League.
The midfielder says he has overcome the heartbreak of Israel missing out on the Euro 2016 finals and is focused on helping the Championship joint-leaders into the top-flight.
It is a dream that could very likely come true for the 27-year-old from the Western Galilee who joined Brighton in January after five years with Celtic.
Kayal spent his first few months helping the club avoid relegation last season. But this term has been a very different story. With more than a third of the season completed, Brighton are perched alongside Hull City in the automatic promotion spots and are the only unbeaten side in the division.
"I’m not surprised we are challenging,” Kayal said.
"This is a team that was nearly promoted two years ago. We had a lot of injuries last season which hurt us and we’ve brought in the right reinforcements in the summer, including my former Maccabi Haifa team-mate Tomer Hemed. He tells me the Championship is in many ways tougher than La Liga.”
Hemed, 28, Brighton’s top-scorer with five goals, joined from Almeria after five years in Spain. He has struck up a formidable partnership with Kayal.
Kayal is confident that promotion can be achieved after the club set a new record of 17 games without defeat. He said: "We have a manager in Chris Hughton who has done it before in the Championship, but of course there is still a long way to go."