The manager of Brighton football club, Graham Potter has urged coaches not to be afraid of getting sacked to avoid making irrational decisions against their teams. Potter noted this after the coach of Sheffield United, Chris Wilder stepped down after five years of coaching the relegation-threatened team.
Graham Potter whose team is currently sitting on the 17th spot on the league table with 26 points in 27 games is seen as one of the coaches who might be asked to go before the end of the 2020-2021 season. All the teams below them, except Fulham, have sacked their coaches.
As for Potter, the 45-year-old English football manager is not scared of being sacked as he admitted that though he always tries to do his best, being sacked is a part of being a football manager.
Just like Sheffield United that sacked Chris Wilder on Saturday and replaced him with Paul Heckingbottom in an interim capacity, Brighton are one of the relegation-threatened team this season. They are just goals away from the relegation zone.
Their 17th position on the league table has not completely saved them from being relegated as they have the same number of points as 18th placed Fulham. Hence, Brighton are as good as being in the relegation waters which means that Graham Potter’s job is on the line.
Recall that the English tactician was named the coach of Brighton in May 2020 on an initial four-year contract. He helped Brighton to finish the 2019-2020 season on the 15th spot on the league table. The club saw that as an achievement and had to extend his contract by two years.
However, the fear is, he might not be able to spend all those years at Brighton if he fails to turn things around at the club in the remaining 11 games. The advantage Brighton have over other clubs around the relegation zone is that they still have a game in hand apart from their match against Southampton scheduled to kick-off at 13:00 today, March 14, 2020.
Ahead of the Premier League match, Graham Potter admitted that he is under pressure which he described as the responsibility he has for the team and the club.
He said: “I made a promise to myself and my family when I started this job – back when we left England for Ostersund – you can’t fear the sack, you can’t be fearful of losing your job as a football manager because then I don’t think you make the right decisions, I don’t think you approach it in the right way.
“I think you’ve got to understand that and what I’ve said before, that the chairman, board, owners, they have a huge responsibility because they are responsible for the club so whatever they decide, whatever decision is made you’ve got to respect it.
“I’ve always thought like that, and then my job is to do my best but that still doesn’t mean that you don’t feel pressure, you don’t feel the responsibility, you don’t feel that strain – that’s clear because you’ve got people you care about in the club that you want to do better for and help and that’s where the pressure is.”
If things continue to go well with Brighton, they would not be relegated based on their current standing on the league table. Hence, the most likely teams that might go down at the end of the season are Sheffield United, West Brom, and Fulham.
