Potter was in an unapologetic mood after a chastening return to Brighton
Graham Potter reminded Brighton fans that he transformed their club’s fortunes over three seasons after the new Chelsea manager was subject to their taunts during a 4-1 defeat – his first in the job since leaving last month.
The hostility towards Potter increased as his team struggled in a first half in which they conceded three – two of them own goals from Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Trevoh Chalobah. Later, Potter said that he had no regrets at taking the Chelsea job in September, having taken Brighton to a club record-high ninth place finish the previous season.
“I didn’t have any expectations [about the Brighton fans’ attitude towards him]” Potter said. “I have nothing to say sorry for or apologise for. I did a good job. You can see the team is a good team. I took over when they were fourth from bottom in the Premier League and were probably the third-worst team. There is a lot of money been raised in terms of player sales and a lot of good players on the pitch. I hope for their sake, the next managers do as good a job and that’s brilliant for them.”
For the second Saturday in a row, Potter’s tactical approach did not have the desired effect for Chelsea with his three-man defence overwhelmed in the wide areas by Brighton in the first half. This was the first win in six for his successor Roberto De Zerbi.