It is no surprise Graham Potter is in favour of a return to five substitutions per team per match in the Premier League. The Albion head coach was probably the first to make clever use of the amendment when it came in for the Restart fixtures almost two years ago.
Graham Potter said: “We’ve always been in favour of it. There would be no reason for us to change that. It does change things a little bit. When we first had it post lockdown I quite enjoyed it as a coach. It gives you a bit more options, a bit more dynamic off the bench. It’s a tricky one to do halfway through the season for different reasons but, if everyone agrees, or a majority agrees for the rule to go through, then it could be an exciting addition to what is already a fantastic competition.”
Potter believes the switch can help keep players motivated.
Graham Potter said: “If you think on a human level, we’ve got a squad of 20-plus players and only 11 can play and only three can come on as subs. With five subs it brings a bit more hope, a bit more opportunity to everyone which makes my life a little bit easier. I am not saying it’s the complete solution. More people by definition can get on the pitch, it’s not saying that they definitely will. Like anything there’s an opportunity, but it doesn’t guarantee you anything, you’ve still got to use the players right, they’ve got to play well, but it certainly makes it a bit more to do with the coaches. At the moment you know once you’ve made your three changes there’s less for you to do, so I think it’s an exciting thing.”
Potter was reminded he now had scope to make more wholesale changes.
Graham Potter replied: “Yes, but so can the opponent. If it was just for us I’d be really in favour of it! But it’s for everybody and then you know there are challenges presented by the other team. It’s an opportunity for coaches to make more changes, for players to have more minutes on the pitch and then the challenge is how well we use it.”
Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp and Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola were both critics of not adopting the changes for the current domestic league campaign when it was allowed in European competitions as well as for England’s domestic cup fixtures.
