Graham Potter Chelsea 2022-23Getty Images

What will Potter bring to Chelsea? New Blues boss outlines coaching philosophy after succeeding sacked Tuchel

  • Left Brighton for west London
  • Prioritises man management
  • Backing himself to deliver

WHAT HAPPENED? The highly-rated 47-year-old is taking on a new challenge at Stamford Bridge with Premier League heavyweights after agreeing to bring a successful three-year stint at Brighton to a close. He finds himself in west London following the dismissal of Thomas Tuchel and believes he has the tools to take an ambitious side forward.

WHAT THEY SAID: Potter has told Chelsea’s official website of his vision: “The history of the club speaks for itself but it's about trying to create that again in our own way. It's an amazing history, fantastic tradition, a historic football club. I mean, growing up with the fantastic teams of Chelsea, of the modern era. You only have to walk around the place here and you see the pictures, you see the trophies, you see the names.

“It's incredible and it's a huge honour, like I said, for me to be a part of that now. It's about creating a team that competes, that has respect for each other, that is honest, that works together, so it's a combination of, I would say, football and human values that we try to work with.

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“I think that you have to understand that they're human beings first, and the key thing is to try understand them, understand what motivates them and understand what they're like as people, and then, from that, try to come to some common ground, try to build relationships, to try to communicate effectively on a daily basis and build respect, trust and honesty.”

THE BIGGER PICTURE: Potter, who first caught the eye at a coaching level in Sweden at Ostersund before going on to work at Swansea and Brighton, added on his plans at Chelsea: “My starting point would always be the person first. I had a football career that I was very fortunate to have that gave me loads of opportunities, loads of experience and then my education, after retiring, I suppose gave me a chance to put that into some theory, to put some context to the experiences.

“Challenges abroad meant that I could widen my thoughts on myself, on life, on football, which was a fantastic experience for me, so all of those challenges, all those experiences, I think shape you as a human being.

“They make you grow, they make you develop. I always think that in order to get better you have to take a little step outside of what's comfortable and our job as coaches is to provide the players that opportunity to do that.”

AND WHAT'S MORE: Chelsea have made another change in their dugout after stumbling out of the blocks in 2022-23, picking up 10 points from six Premier League games and suffering a 1-0 defeat to Dinamo Zagreb in their Champions League group stage opener.

STORY IN THREE PHOTOS:

Graham PotterGetty Images

Graham PotterGetty

Graham Potter Brighton ChelseaGetty

WHAT NEXT FOR POTTER? Chelsea are, if fixtures in Britain get a green light following the death of Queen Elizabeth II, due to play host to Red Bull Salzburg on Wednesday in what could be Potter’s first game at the helm.

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