Graham Potter: West Ham boss says Chelsea sacking made him 'stronger person'
2025-02-14
Category: sports

West Ham boss Graham Potter said he "wasn't in a good place" after he was sacked by Chelsea but that it made him a "stronger person".Potter was dismissed by Chelsea in April 2023, less than seven months after replacing Thomas Tuchel at Stamford Bridge in September 2022.The 49-year-old returned to coaching after 20 months when he was appointed West Ham's new manager in January, succeeding Julen Lopetegui."At the time you can imagine I wasn't in a good place because you are disappointed to lose your job and it hasn't gone very well, or clearly as well as you'd like," Potter told Football Focus."It was a tough moment."Potter won just 12 of his 31 games in charge of the Blues in all competitions, having spent more than Â£550m on new players during the 2022-23 season.Asked what advice he would give himself in hindsight, following his Chelsea departure, Potter said: "Everything will be OK. I think it makes you better, it makes you a stronger person, it makes you a better coach."The worst that can happen is you can lose your job and you can still be alright, you can still move forward, still have something to offer, still grow as a person."That bubble we're in, it can be a little too far down the rabbit hole. Be grateful for the good and the bad, just deal with it."
Potter 'had to be patient' for next step
Potter, who spent over three years at Brighton before taking charge at Chelsea, said he needed time away from football following his exit from Stamford Bridge."It was nice to get out of the bubble - 12 years, you can end up lacking a bit of perspective," he said."To zoom out and see the world and football for what it is, and hopefully it makes you a better person and better manager."The Hammers boss added it was "nice" to do normal things like the shopping and taking his children to school, along with seeing pop star Taylor Swift twice during her Eras Tour.Potter said he had opportunities to coach abroad, but that he believed he still had "work to do" in the Premier League.He added: "I had a really good experience at Brighton and a not so good one at Chelsea, so you're trying to find the next step."You want to go and work but there's not many of us [managers] in the Premier League, so you have to be patient."
Potter needs 'time' for 'unrelenting' Premier League
Since taking charge of the Hammers, Potter has won just one of his first five games and the club sit 15th in the Premier League - 10 points clear of the relegation zone.However, Potter believes fans should be excited to watch a West Ham team under his management, but he asked for time and said it will need "a lot of work"."You don't want to be that coach that asks for time, but that's ultimately how you improve," Potter explained."In the end it's not some magic gimmick, it's not some clever culture programme, it's time."The more good and bad situations you go through, you build a trust and understanding of each other."It's still the Premier League and the competition is still the competition. It's unrelenting and it's demanding."Watch Football Focus on Saturday, 15 February at 12:00 GMT on BBC One, BBC iPlayer, the BBC Sport website and app.