Graham Potter’s Full Pre-Manchester City Press Conference
Graham Potter: “I wouldn’t say [Man City clash can be used as a] kickstart as we’ve played only 15. Such a lot’s happened in those 15 and I’ve been here only four months – and it feels longer than that if I’m honest. It’s a season that’s obviously unique.”
Graham Potter: “We see Man City as an opportunity to play against one of the best teams in the world. It’ll be a different game from the one we faced [vs Forest] but it’ll be complicated and tough. You need those games, and you need these [Forest] as well.”
Graham Potter: “As much as we want to win – and I don’t want to sound like it’s acceptable to lose, it’s not – but unfortunately part of the game is dropping points, is not succeeding, you’ve got to suffer and get better.”
Graham Potter: “When I think back to how I got to this point, a lot of the things are the setbacks and the moments of struggle. So it’s not thinking of it as a kickstart, we focus on the next match, try to improve and try to get better.”
Graham Potter on Man City:
“We have to play well ourselves, that is the key. Then you have to understand the quality they have and try to stop it. It sounds simple when you condense it down but the reality isn’t so straightforward. They are a top team but we can cause them a problem, we can be ourselves and try to play well and put them under pressure. We need to use Stamford Bridge and then see what happens.”
Graham Potter on David Datro Fofana plan:
“He’s been on a bit of a break so we’ll give him some time to train, to assess him, and then work out the best solution in terms of taking the next step in his career.”
Graham Potter on Raheem Sterling:
“It’s been a challenge for him but it’s been a challenging period for everybody. There’s been a lot of change and a lot has happened, so in that regard, it’s not easy to completely settle or hit the ground running. There is more to come from Raheem I’m sure but he gives his best every day and we need to help him get to the level we know he can reach.”
Graham Potter on areas to strengthen:
“It’s a good question but the problem is if I answer it and I’m specific, every single player in that area will be linked with Chelsea. So I have to dodge it… I hope you can understand why. My responsibility is to the players that are here. We will try in every window to improve, but January is a complicated one because it’s the middle of the season. In the meantime, we have to deal with all the noise of Chelsea getting linked with everybody and I don’t comment on any player that isn’t a Chelsea player. As always, and it’s a boring answer, but my job is to help the players that are here and support the club in terms of decisions they make in terms of how to improve.”
Graham Potter on Erling Haaland:
“He’s had a fantastic season and his goals there are amazing. They are a top team but we have to think about ourselves, how we can do better, how we can take steps forward in our game. That is the approach we’ll have.”
