Ahead of Chelsea’s upcoming Premier League fixture against Brentford, Graham Potter has revealed why he has so much respect for our opponents and their manager Thomas Frank, as well as discussing the reasons behind his own team’s impressive form and his plans for the squad during the World Cup.
We travel to our west London neighbours Brentford in the Premier League on Wednesday evening and when speaking to the media in the build-up to that game our head coach was asked for his opinion on the work his opposite number Frank has been doing there.
It was clear that Potter has a healthy respect for what the Dane has achieved in getting Brentford promoted to the top flight and allowing them to punch above their weight in the Premier League, seeing a manager with a similar approach to his own.
‘I rate Thomas very highly,’ he said. ‘I’ve followed his career since I came back to the UK and I knew him when I was in Sweden as well, so I know him well. I like him as a person, I think we have similar thoughts around the game and life in general.
‘I think a coach is judged on how much he gets out of the players, how much he organises the team, how the results are in comparison to the expectation of those results and he does a fantastic job.’
Potter went on the expand on those views and explain what it is about Frank’s Brentford side which impresses him so much, primarily the way they play to their strengths, believing there is much more to the Bees than just star striker Ivan Toney.
‘I think Brentford are really good at what they do. Thomas has done a fantastic job there, they use the quality of their players well. They have limited resources if you compare everybody in the Premier League, but they’ve made the most out of what they have and that’s a credit to Thomas and his staff and all the players there at Brentford.
‘I’m always impressed with the job they do. They use Ivan Toney well but it’s not only that. They attack with clarity and they defend with aggression and organisation, so they’re a tough team to play against.
‘The way they play fits the players they have, they’re very organised around that, they know clearly what they’re doing in all the phases. Set plays are very dangerous. Ivan Toney as a centre-forward is in his way as dangerous as anybody in the league.
'They have a spirit and an understanding and they’re really well motivated, really well organised and that’s credit to Thomas and his staff.’
Looking at his own team, Potter admitted that his start to life as Chelsea head coach has surpassed his own expectations, even if he admits to keeping them low, with our manager undefeated since joining the club and his Blues side now on a run of five consecutive victories in all competitions.
‘Naturally I’m not the most optimistic, but you never know, you can’t predict anything. It’s gone fantastically well in terms of results, I can’t complain about that at all, but more than that just the way the group have responded. The way that we feel in the team is really positive, but it’s only been six weeks.’
A big part of his early success has been our defensive record, being on a run of four clean sheets in a row, and he was quick to praise the work and mentality of the whole squad for that fact.
‘It’s a credit to the players, a credit to the group. You can’t defend with a settled four or a settled five these days because the games are so relentless and the challenges are huge in that regard. So it’s about the team, it’s about the group, it’s about the togetherness of the squad.
‘If you’re prepared to suffer, if you’re prepared to deal with the discomfort in the games, then you give yourselves a chance to keep a clean sheet and that obviously gives you a chance to win, certainly with the quality that we have.’
Of course, like every team this season, it will be a challenge for Chelsea to maintain momentum into the winter, due to the lengthy break for this year’s World Cup, during which many players will be away at the tournament with their countries, and Potter confirmed planning is already under way for that period in November and December.
‘We’re probably in the planning stage,’ he added. ‘Of course we’ll have some time off and then we’ll look at a warm weather camp I think. So probably a combination of the two I think.’
Until then, Potter will be hoping to navigate a run of eight games in three-and-a-half weeks while continuing our good form, starting at Brentford on Wednesday evening.