"It feels good to have the points in the bag and we would certainly rather be in the position we have than having to chase those points," Hughton told a news conference.
"But we know we have work to do still, everybody is aware of the challenge we have with the magnitude of the games we have left. We will go into every game aiming for points and until we are over the line we can't rest easy."
Brighton face a tough climax to the season with matches at home to second-placed Manchester United and away to champions Manchester City and Liverpool, who are in third spot.
"Saturday's game is the best opportunity to get to safety because it's our next game. That's how you have to treat every game. I still feel the teams below us will be pushing and some will get results," added Hughton.
"We can't think about a number of points we need for safety, we must take every game seriously."
(Reporting by Shrivathsa Sridhar in Bengaluru; Editing by Ken Ferris)
