Graham Potter has opened up on his coaching philosophy in his first press conference since being appointed Chelsea manager last week.
Potter was appointed as the new Blues boss on Thursday after Todd Boehly made the bold call to sack Thomas Tuchel one day earlier. The former Brighton manager's first press conference with Chelsea was postponed following the Queen’s death aged 96 last week, while Chelsea’s fixture against Fulham was also pushed back as a mark of respect.
Although there are doubts over whether Chelsea’s match against Liverpool will go ahead on Sunday, Potter will make his managerial bow as Chelsea manager at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday against Red Bull Salzburg in the Champions League. Ahead of the match, Potter has given an indication to what he has planned for his new squad.
“I try to find some common ground, try to build relationships, to try to communicate effectively on a daily basis and build respect, trust and honesty, so my starting point would always be the person first,” he said. “I think that you have to understand that they're [players are] human beings first, and the key thing is to try to understand them, understand what motivates them and understand what they're like as people.
“Chelsea is a really, really tough place to play so I'm looking forward to being on the other end of that and getting that support with the team because it's amazing, the atmosphere is fantastic and it's something I'm really looking forward to.
“It's [Stamford Bridge is] one of those places that fills you with incredible excitement when you come as an away team. The crowd are always very, very passionate, they're always getting behind the home side."
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While he is still getting used to his new club, Potter does have plenty of familiar faces around him at Chelsea’s Cobham training ground. As well as left-back Marc Cucurella, who also left Brighton for Chelsea this season, Potter brought with him assistant Billy Reid, first-team coaches Bjorn Hamberg and Bruno and head of recruitment Kyle Macauley from the Seagulls.
The 47-year-old, who has also worked at Swedish club Ostersunds and Swansea City, guided Brighton to 15th, 16th and 9th-place finishes in the Premier League after joining the club in 2019. It is undoubtedly a step up to Chelsea, but Potter believes his coaching principles are applicable across all levels of the game.
“It's about creating a team that competes, that has respect, for each other, that is honest, that works together, so a combination of football and human values that we try to work with,” he added. “It's nice to be able to take the next step and to be able to work with an exciting group of players that we have here and compete at the top, try and create a winning team and that's a fantastic opportunity for me.
“It's the start of a really exciting period. I was really excited and impressed by [the new ownership], firstly as people and then the vision for the club and what they wanted to do.”
