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1 Graham Potter reflects on being sacked at Chelsea, job speculation and working with Manchester United sporting director Dan Ashworth.
Monday Night Football couldn’t time having Graham Potter as a special guest any better as he appeared this week to analyse Manchester United’s 3-0 defeat against Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League.
Potter featured to cover Premier League action as Bournemouth beat Southampton 3-1, but the main talking points from his appearance focused on his search for a new job and previous work with Dan Ashworth at Brighton.
The former Chelsea manager also reflected on why things went so wrong for him at Stamford Bridge, yet his underwhelming spell at the London outfit didn’t put off reports in the summer that United’s hierarchy were sounding out other managers.
When asked about the United job and those previous connections, Potter told Sky Sports: “I am the only coach in world football to be linked with Stoke City and Napoli in the same week.
“A lot of what I’ve read in the media is untrue and false. I take what the media says with a pinch of salt. I’ve had lots of conversations with lots of people.
“For the respect of everybody, it’s best I keep it private.
“I don’t think anything is impossible but jobs are difficult. That’s the reality of life in the Premier League. If you’re a big club like Manchester United and you’re not in the top six, then there’s always going to be scrutiny.
“Sometimes you have to look beyond the results and look at the performances.
“They’ve missed a lot of chances and sometimes teams go through that where you don’t start reflecting your xG [expected goals], and then a bad day comes along [like on Sunday] and the clouds come over pretty quickly – that’s what they’re facing.”
“I thought they were fantastic on the day.” ⭐
Graham Potter praises Tottenham and their standout performance against Manchester United ⚪ pic.twitter.com/JTaYRczekG
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) September 30, 2024
This led to an interesting conversation between Potter and Jamie Carragher as he gave insight into what it was like at Chelsea.
He added: “The challenge is try to have someone perspective, to try to rationalise what’s actually happened, to speak logically.
“After a game, everybody’s emotional because football is about emotions, it’s about feelings. Fans are hurting, they want to have answers, they want to blame somebody, and sometimes it is the manager. Sometimes we make mistakes and we’re not perfect.
“But it’s part of the job, it’s part of what we sign up for, and I’m sure Erik would say the same. It’s what he expects at Manchester United. If you don’t win, or you don’t play well, or you lose, then people are going to be critical.
“Whoever lost that game felt like they were going to be under pressure. It wasn’t so long back that people were talking about Ange [Postecoglou], about no tactics or no plan B, and all of a sudden he’s won four on the trot and everything’s great for him.
“You need to try and get enough results and then you’ve got to work with your players, stick to what you want to do, and take the club forward as best you can.”
“It’s never nice when you lose your job.”
Graham Potter explains why he’s been away from the limelight since departing Chelsea in April 2023 🔵 pic.twitter.com/gSbqzHYhiI
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) September 30, 2024
Potter lasted fewer than eight months at Chelsea before being sacked. His account of the owners makes for interesting reading.
“After speaking to the owners, they were very ambitious. They wanted to challenge for trophies and use younger players.
“The chance to have that opportunity to work with younger players and build an environment. We did some things well.
“All of a sudden there was a bit of adjustment to be done while still trying to compete, the whole team was in a bit of flux. There was a lot of adjusting.
“It’s impossible to play everybody in every minute. Finding that stability was a bit of a struggle. You live and you learn. It was a very turbulent period in Chelsea’s history. I wish I had done better.”
Potter’s positive account of working with Dan Ashworth
Ashworth, who is the current sporting director at Manchester United, has experience working with Potter from their time together at Brighton.
Potter made it no secret that he believes Ashworth can help restore United to former glories.
“Yeah, absolutely,” Potter said. “I think Dan’s part of a team there. He’s want to support, he’ll want to help and that’s my experience with Dan.
“I don’t know anything about the context of Manchester United but my experience of Dan at Brighton was he was very supportive. He would challenge at the right time, but want to help and be there for you.
“Football clubs have to create conditions for coaches to be successful.”
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