Brighton chief executive and vice-chairman Paul Barber was a guest speaker at a session with students at UCFB, reports www.fcbusiness.co.uk

Barber told them: "Certainly I'd like to see for us to stay in the Premier League and continue to work towards our long-term vision which is to be a top ten Premier League club."

He admits that it will be difficult – the Premier League is notoriously competitive – but remains optimistic about their chances. In a message students could learn from, Barber added: "Hopefully we're strong enough and resilient enough to overcome those challenges – and there will be some – because professional sport is full of them. There's no guarantee that just because you've made it to the Premier League after a lot of hard work that you're going be able to stay there forever."

Now in their third season in the top flight, Brighton have racked up memorable wins against the likes of Manchester United and Tottenham at the Amex, and reached last season's FA Cup semi-finals. Now for the club it's about growing their profile around the world through the shop window of the Premier League.

Barber said: "The global profile that comes with playing in the Premier League is invaluable to our club, but also for our commercial partners American Express and Nike. It's also great for the city because it helps the economy – hotel rooms get booked, restaurants get busy and a range of different businesses come to the city who might not otherwise have come."

He finished: "The global profile, as well as national, are very powerful attributes for us to be a part of."