Graham Potter has laughed off the idea of becoming a ‘sexy’ manager now that he’s swapped Brighton for high-spending Chelsea.
Potter has always rejected the flashy tendencies and fads of football in favor of mixing humility and hard work with a dash of self-mockery.
The Solihull-born coach still drives the same car he picked up when he moved from Swansea to Brighton three years ago.
Not for Potter the trappings of the King’s Road in Chelsea or the leafy Surrey suburbs of the Blues’ training ground in Cobham.
But the 47-year-old insisted his low-key nature should not be confused with a lack of conviction: Potter remains fully confident in his ability to succeed in west London.
Asked if joining a big club like Chelsea would see him revisit his previous admission he would never be a ‘sexy’ manager and change character, Potter replied: “I sincerely hope not, that would be my instinctive response.
“I very rarely feel sexy!
“If you’re ever successful or trying to do anything, you have to be true to yourself, I think.
“And I’m not saying I’m right or wrong or anything like that, I have to be me.
“And part of being me is a bit of self-mockery.
“I’m smart enough to know that I started below the bottom tier, and after a process of trial and error and a lot of hard work, luck, and help from other people, I’m there. got to this point.
“And that’s a fantastic achievement and something that I’m really proud of.
“But at the same time I’m a human being, certainly not perfect and I don’t think I’ve found anything or have all the answers.”
Potter joked in his first media duties as Chelsea manager that he started his career below the bottom tier of football, charting his rise from Swedish side Ostersund to the Premier League.
The highly rated manager, who takes Chelsea to Crystal Palace this weekend, has no desire for football’s most luxurious trappings, choosing instead to focus on the central challenge of pursuing success with the Blues .
“We haven’t moved, our way of life hasn’t changed,” Potter said of himself and his family.
“We are not in an open top car driving around Brighton and Hove, or Surrey or Cobham or whatever.
“There are no Lamborghinis on order, I’m still driving the same car I picked up in England when I got back from Swansea.
“So my life hasn’t changed at all if I’m being honest.
“Brighton has a fine training ground, and in some ways equal if not better in terms of facilities.
“But what we have here is history and recognition, pictures of people winning major trophies.
“And that’s the main thing. This is where the expectation, or the pressure, is the difference.
“It’s not about facilities, it’s about people and understanding the difference in the context of this football club.
“Managers, best players, legends, trophies; that’s the difference.
“But at the same time, I’m smart enough to know, I think, and aware enough of my own personality to have the ability to succeed here.
“And I think if other people have done it, it’s possible for me to do it.
“And I think that’s a pretty good way to think about the challenge.”
