Graham Potter Brighton
His strong partnership with head coach Graham Potter is a good reason for that confidence. The 58-year-old Glaswegian will take charge against Leicester at the King Power with Potter isolating at home. The two men will be in close contact ahead of and during the game.
Billy Reid said: “Graham was Ostersunds manager for a couple of years when he called me. Graeme Jones, who is on the coaching staff at Newcastle, put the two of us together. I wasn’t sure about going to Sweden at my age, if I’m honest, but I was really impressed when I met Graham. I knew from my first impression that he was a real thinker about football and a guy who was a cut above the level he was working at then, which was second tier in Sweden. His man management is fantastic and it has been a privilege to work with him and a real learning curve for me personally. I feel comfortable with Graham. He involves me in everything. I was manager at Hamilton for eight years, so I know what to expect but obviously the Premier League is a step up. We’ll try and keep things as normal as possible and prepare for a tough game at Leicester on Sunday. I think we are all different characters, that is for sure. Bjorn (Hamberg) has been part of the team since I have been here and I think he has worked with Graham for going on nine years. He is one of the coaches, one of the analysts, and he feeds us in everything we do. Bjorn does the defensive stuff. He concentrates on that, by in large. But he also gets involved in team intentions, like myself and Graham.”
Potter and Reid saw their side draw with Chelsea on Tuesday and were in the East Midlands 24 hours later. It appeared they were witnessing a 2-1 win for Leicester, albeit against the run of play, until Tottenham scored twice deep in added time. That cave-in was not necessarily good news for Albion.
Billy Reid said: “We were at the Spurs game on Wednesday when it looked as if they were going to win, then they lost it in the last 30 seconds. But that will make them more ready for us. I’m sure Leicester will be hurting. They have a lot of injuries and players on international duty but they will be dangerous. Brendan Rodgers’ teams are always organised and they are a top-eight team. We will have to be at our best. I know Brendan and his assistant Chris Davies from their time at Celtic when he won everything. Since he went into Leicester he’s made a big impression. We’re going up against some top coaches, make no mistake about that. They are capable of scoring goals. They are probably leaking more goals at the moment but whoever plays, they will still have a strong squad available.”
Tottenham’s comeback left them unbeaten in their last six Prem games, one more than Albion. But the Seagulls are happy enough with their recent run. Still, three draws out of five – and 11 now for the season – mean there is always room for improvement.
Billy Reid said: “We make ourselves hard to beat first and foremost but we believe our performance levels in the last six or seven games have stepped up. If we continue doing that, some of these draws will turn into wins. On Tuesday there was a real belief we could win. But going behind and equalising made it a good point – the lads are in a good place at the moment.”
