I have to be me – Graham Potter rules out becoming ‘sexy’ manager at Chelsea

Graham Potter has laughed off the idea of turning into a “sexy” manager now he has traded Brighton for big-spending Chelsea.

Potter has always rejected football’s flashy trends and fashions in favour of mixing humility and hard work with a sprinkling of self-deprecation.

The Solihull-born coach still drives the same car he collected on moving from Swansea to Brighton three years ago.

Not for Potter the trappings of Chelsea’s King’s Road or the leafy Surrey suburbs of the Blues’ Cobham training ground then.

But the 47-year-old insisted his low-key nature must not be mistaken for any lack of belief: Potter remains wholly confident in his ability to succeed in west London.

Asked if stepping up to a big club like Chelsea would see him reviewing his previous admission he would never be a “sexy” coach and change his persona, Potter replied: “I sincerely hope not, would be my instinctive answer.

“I very rarely feel sexy!

“If you ever have any success or you’re trying to do anything, you have to be true to yourself, I think.

“And I’m not saying that I’m right or wrong or anything like that, I have to be me.

“And part of being me is a little bit of self-deprecation.

“I’m intelligent enough to know that I started off 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’ve got to this point.

“And that’s a fantastic achievement and something I’m really proud of.

“But at the same time I’m a human being, certainly not perfect and don’t think I’ve cracked anything or have all the answers.”

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