Brighton coach Oscar Garcia needs time - Alan Mullery

New Brighton head coach Oscar Garcia will need time to settle at the club, says former manager Alan Mullery.

The Spaniard has lost his three opening games in charge after taking over following the sacking of Gus Poyet.

Mullery told BBC Sussex: "Everybody wants to see him succeed but it is very new to him.

"Oscar must have time. You can't look at it and say 'we give you six months'. It doesn't work and you have got to be fair to managers."

Former Barcelona midfielder Garcia was appointed in June and signed a three-year deal with the Seagulls last month.

He won the Israeli title last season in his sole campaign in charge of Maccabi Tel Aviv and has previously been assistant to the Catalonia national side and coached in Barcelona's youth set-up.

Poyet won the League One title with Brighton in 2011 and guided the Amex Stadium outfit to fourth place in the Championship last season - their highest league finish since 1983.

But under Garcia the club have lost their opening two league games to Leeds United and Derby County, both by a 2-1 scoreline, and also been knocked out of the Capital One Cup by Football League newcomers Newport County.

"Oscar has got to prove to people he is a good coach," Mullery said. "People want to see good football and the side winning.

"It's not easy. I don't think anything in football is now because there is so much quality around.

Mullery led Brighton from the old Third Division to the First Division during his spell in charge from 1976-81

"There are some terrific sides in the Championship; with the three that came down from the Premier League [Wigan, Reading and QPR], Watford and Nottingham Forest under Billy Davies.

"It is going to be a tough season. That is the way it is and you need to be patient, and that means everybody."

Mullery, who was recently appointed as a club ambassador at Brighton, guided the Sussex club to two promotions and a place in the old First Division during his first spell in charge from 1976 to 1981, before then returning for a six-month spell in 1986.

The former England international believes the players must shoulder some of the responsibility while Garcia adapts to the English game.

"It's about having good players," he continued. "Once you are a coach and a manager, all you can do is give information to them that will make them better.

"It's about making them better not only as individuals but as a team. You have got to be one - not individuals.

"A manager can only teach the players. If they go out and take notice of what he is talking about then they will be successful."