RALPH Hasenhuttl has congratulated Chelsea on “a very good choice” with expected new manager Graham Potter, after close acquaintance Thomas Tuchel was sacked. The Austrian admitted the Blues’ decision is another reminder of the brutal nature of management at the top level. Tuchel had been relieved of his duties just six matches into the Premier League season, and was not even the first to go after AFC Bournemouth’s Scott Parker decision. However, Hasenhuttl was full of praise for Potter – who has been in charge of Brighton & Hove Albion since 2019.
Ralph Hasenhuttl said: “In football, things sometimes change very quickly. What everybody has seen is what a fantastic manager Tuchel is and what a job he has done there. I can remember him coming in and immediately he had a big impact with his group. He changed immediately the whole behaviour of the club, playing good football and winning the Champions League. Then if somebody else decides you get more out of this group than you do, then change is happening in this business. We all know this when we sign a contract somewhere, you know in some moments the next one is right out your door waiting for your job.”
On the impending incoming of Potter,
Ralph Hasenhuttl added: “I must congratulate them on a very good choice, he is for me the manager in the past two seasons that has had the biggest impact on a club. With all the limits they have and the transfers they gave away to other clubs, to still compete on the highest level shows how good this group was. I know Pascal Gross who plays there and we speak often about the development of this club, he does a good job and has all the knowledge to step into a top club. It is a clear signal that there are also good English managers out there, and he was also working in foreign countries to get experience. He was looking for other options to learn and develop his knowledge, and this is a very good way of doing it.”
