Graham Potter Brighton
This Saturday’s game at Villa Park marks the manager’s 100th game as Albion boss since he was appointed in May 2019. Potter replaced Chris Hughton, who had been the manager to take Albion in the Premier League and keep them in the top flight for two seasons after promotion in 2017. Potter has admitted that results do bring him joy in the short term, he puts the pleasure of working day-to-day with players and staff above everything else.
Graham Potter said: “Football is about winning, it is a results business, we know that. But I started doing this job because you can make a difference, you can help people. Ultimately that’s what it’s about for me. I will look back on my life and I won’t necessarily look back on wins or results, I will look back on the people that I have worked with. The challenge is then to combine that with what the club wants, which is to win enough football matches. The result is a really important part of it, don’t get me wrong – my life is a lot better when we’ve won! It’s how you get that result though, that’s why I refer to the people as the most important bit. I look back at my times with Ostersunds, with Swansea and the people here, they will be more important to me than anything else.”
When he was asked about what was his favourite result as Albion’s head coach, two matches at the Amex stick out for the Enghlishman.
Graham Potter said: “I still say the first game after lockdown against Arsenal was a massive result, if you looked at the fixtures we had – Manchester United, Manchester City, Liverpool at home, those are the games where you need your supporters and nobody was going to be there. So to get that result [against Arsenal] was really important. If supporters had been there the roof would have come off. For the players and the club, the 3-2 win over Manchester City was another big one. To beat a team of that quality, with the crowd there, was really good for the team.”
Brighton head coach Graham Potter on the lap of honour after the Premier League match between Brighton and Hove Albion and Manchester City at the American Express Stadium , Brighton , UK – 18th May 2021 – Credit Simon Dack. The manager appreciates the way fans have supported him during his time at the club.
Graham Potter said: “I always think the support has been positive generally. I keep off social media and don’t read newspapers – the dissenting voices are always the loudest. I am not naive enough to think that I have universal support because I don’t think that exists, especially in this game. But generally, the people I have met have been supportive, they can see what we’re trying to do. They want the results to get a little bit better, which is understandable, but they’re really positive, they are appreciative of what we’re trying to do and how we’re trying to move the club forward. There will be some because we’re not winning enough who will want change to something else. The last time we had a crowd in before the pandemic, there was a bloke shouting at me, ‘it’s time to go now Potter’ that’s how it is. Generally though, the supporters have been brilliant.”
Potter has taken charge of Albion 99 times since his appointment and has won 29, drawn 33 and lost 37 with an average of 1.21 points per game. He and his Albion team will take on Aston Villa and their new manager Steven Gerrard in his century match as Albion manager and will be hoping to earn his 30th win at the club.
