As he attended today’s ceremonial unveiling, new Chelsea manager Graham Potter committed to foster “relationships, respect, and trust” among the players.
The commitment was made on Monday, September 12 when the former manager of Brighton & Hove Albion signed a five-year contract with Chelsea and posed for his official unveiling photos.
Potter conducted his first interview with the club’s official social media outlets while posing for photos with co-owners Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali.
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It is the beginning of a pretty exciting time. I was genuinely taken aback by the new ownership, first by the people and then by the club’s goals, said Potter.
‘The history of the club speaks for itself but it’s about attempting to replicate that again in our own way.’
It’s a historic football club with a fantastic history and tradition, he continued. I’m referring to experiencing Chelsea’s world-class teams as a child.
‘You only have to go around the room here and you see the images, 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.
The key is to try to understand them, what drives them, and what they’re like as people, and then, from there, try to find some common ground, try to build relationships, try to communicate effectively every day, and try to develop respect, trust, and honesty. “I think that you have to understand that they’re human beings first,” says the author.
‘My starting point would always be the person first. I was extremely fortunate to have a football career that provided me with a ton of opportunities and experience. After I retired, I suppose that my education gave me the chance to put those experiences into some theory and give them some context.
“Challenges abroad allowed me to broaden my thoughts on life, myself, and football, which was an amazing experience for me. I think all of those challenges and experiences shape you as a person.”
“They help you mature and advance.” 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.’
To replace Thomas Tuchel, who was fired last week following a dismal 1-0 loss to Dinamo Zagreb in the Champions League group stages, Potter agreed to a five-year contract.
Assistant Billy Reid, first-team coaches Bjorn Hamberg and Bruno, goalkeeping coach Ben Roberts, and assistant director of recruiting Kyle Macaulay from Brighton have all joined the new manager at Chelsea.