West Ham manager Graham Potter has admitted that being sacked by Chelsea left him “in a tough place,” but he believes the experience ultimately made him “a stronger person.”
Potter was dismissed by Chelsea in April 2023, just seven months after taking over from Thomas Tuchel at Stamford Bridge in September 2022.
After a 20-month break, the 49-year-old returned to coaching in January, stepping in as West Ham’s new manager to succeed 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 £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 over at West Ham, Graham Potter has managed just one win in his first five matches, with the team currently sitting 15th in the Premier League, 10 points above the relegation zone.
Despite the challenging start, Potter remains optimistic, urging fans to look forward to the style of play he aims to implement. He emphasized that building a successful team will take “a lot of work” and called for patience as the process unfolds.
“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.”