Graham Potter aims to continue Chelsea's tradition of success after being appointed head coach – and the 47-year-old is excited and impressed by the long-term vision of owners Todd Boehly, Behdad Eghbali, and Jose E. Feliciano
It was on Wednesday morning that Chelsea dramatically announced Thomas Tuchel had been dismissed after 19 months at the helm at Stamford Bridge, in which the German had guided the Blues to a Champions League triumph, a UEFA Super Cup win, and a first-ever Club World Cup victory.
Boehly and Eghbali worked swiftly to bring in Potter as a replacement from Brighton and Hove Albion; his appointment was confirmed on Thursday afternoon and the English coach got straight to work at Cobham by meeting club staff alongside the owners.
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"It’s the start of a really exciting period, I think," Potter told Chelsea's in-house media. "[There is a] new ownership, who I really, really excited and impressed by, firstly as people and then the vision for the club and what they wanted to do. Of course, the history of the club speaks for itself, but it’s about trying to create that again, in our own way.
“It’s just 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, you know, try to create a winning team. That’s a fantastic opportunity for me."
Potter continued: "It [Chelsea] has an amazing history, fantastic tradition, a historic football club. I mean, growing up with 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 for me to be 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."
Potter introduced himself to the first-team squad on Friday morning and has overseen training over the past three days as Chelsea prepare for their Champions League clash against Red Bull Salzburg.
As things stand, that game is still due to be played on Wednesday evening. And Potter is looking forward to taking his place in the Stamford Bridge dugout for the first time as the club's head coach. "It’s one of those places that fills you with incredible excitement when you come as an away team," Potter said of Chelsea's stadium.
"The crowd are always very passionate, they’re always getting behind the home side, and it’s 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 fantastic and it’s something I’m really looking forward to."
On his coaching philosophy, Potter added: “I think you have to understand they’re human beings first and the key thing is to try to understand them, understand what motivates them, understand what they are like as people. And from that, try to come to some common ground, build relationships, communicate effectively on a daily basis, build respect, trust and honesty. My starting point as always been the person first.”
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