S
SEARCH
M
SM
Tuesday, June 2
Collect News Data
/esi/1339/6_A_1_394583_0/index.html?art_id=394583&ESI

Graham Potter no stranger to training disruption after Ostersunds spell

:Headline: Graham Potter no stranger to training disruption after Ostersunds spell:
The Brighton boss made his name during a seven-and-a-half-year spell in Scandinavia, during which time freezing temperatures forced the club indoors.

Brighton boss Graham Potter was forced to adapt training sessions with former club Ostersunds because the freezing Swedish winter turned footballs "into cannonballs" and caused players' eyelashes to snap off.

Potter is currently unable to perform his regular coaching role as his isolated Albion squad are working on their fitness from home following the postponement of the Premier League due to the coronavirus crisis.

While the 44-year-old is aware the ongoing pandemic is far more serious, temperature issues during his seven-and-a-half-year spell in Scandinavia provided experience of adjusting schedules and training indoors.

"This is quite unprecedented, but in Sweden we had times when the cold forced us inside," said Potter, who left Ostersunds for Swansea in 2018 before being appointed by Brighton last summer.

An unnamed Brighton player has tested positive for coronavirus (Gareth Fuller/PA)

"It's tricky over there because the sun is shining, it's a nice blue sky and I thought, as an English coach coming over there, that the weather would be OK, but actually it was about minus 20!

"We did one training session and the lads' sweat was dripping down their foreheads and literally turning into icicles. Their eyelashes were freezing and then snapping off.

"Footballs were getting cold and turning into cannonballs. That drove us inside but obviously only temporarily – not as extreme as we're all experiencing now."

Potter has been keeping in touch with his squad – one of whom tested positive for Covid-19 on Thursday – by organising online group training sessions.

“We did one training session and the lads' sweat was dripping down their foreheads and literally turning into icicles. Their eyelashes were freezing and then snapping off.”
- Graham Potter on his time at Ostersunds

He is also contacting them individually to check on their mental wellbeing.

Although the period of social distancing is far from ideal, the head coach feels he has started to develop better personal relationships with his players as a result.

"It's a bad situation and you're forced to contact the players in this format and you're forced to speak to them in this way but it means you're away from the training ground, you're away from the club, you speak to them on a more human level, even," said Potter, speaking during a video press conference.

"Because you're just asking about how their family are, how they are and they're asking the same and it becomes a more human conversation rather than a coach-player conversation and that is nice.

"So that's been good and something I'd like to of course continue. You want to build those types of relationships anyway but this (means) you're almost forced into the situation. That's something I've enjoyed."

Potter and his family have been in isolation after his wife showed flu-like symptoms last week.

The situation left him juggling the responsibilities of being a Premier League manager working remotely with the challenge of home schooling his three young children, a task he jokingly compared to "water torture for 12 hours".

"I have done a bit of PE, a bit of maths, a bit of art," said Potter.

Graham Potter, who was Ostersunds manager between 2010 and 2018, has been home schooling his three children (Adam Davy/PA)

"I'm getting them to basically make cards to say sorry to their mum, which is essentially my level of creativity in terms of what they are doing.

"You certainly appreciate the fantastic job our schools do for our children and the patience they have.

"They take it in turns to cry and fight so it's just a nice process of that – sort of water torture for 12 hours!

"The twins are four and my eldest is 10 so there is a clear hierarchy but still they like to challenge each other."

body check tags ::

amp_article_394583 : Collect and Make Data not in DataBase  : 
last updated article - 2020-03-27 23:04:21:
html db last update - 2020-06-01 03:30:40 :

ex - 7200 : read : write cache and make html

Coronavirus outbreak - Click here for more stories

Click here for more stories about Graham Potter

Click here for more stories about Brighton & Hove Albion

Share this article now:
Show comments

Subscribe to our Newsletter


Transfer Talk Daily
Match previews - twice weekly
Morning Briefing (7am UTC)
UC
Get the latest transfer news, match previews and news direct to your inbox!
Read more about Graham Potter Football
Recommended Next on SM
Coronavirus latest: Unnamed Brighton player tests positive
Man Utd extend Odion Ighalo loan deal
Project Restart: How would a points-per-game system affect Premier League table?
Premier League Table
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Liverpool29271166214582
2Manchester CityMan City28183768313757
3Leicester CityLeicester29165858283053
4Chelsea29146951391248
5Manchester UnitedMan Utd29129844301445
6Wolverhampton WanderersWolves29101364134743
7Sheffield UnitedSheff Utd28111073025543
8Tottenham HotspurSpurs29118104740741
9Arsenal2891364036440
10Burnley29116123440-639
11Crystal Palace29109102632-639
12Everton29107123746-937
13Newcastle UnitedNewcastle2998122541-1635
14Southampton29104153552-1734
15Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton29611123240-829
16West Ham UnitedWest Ham2976163550-1527
17Watford2969142744-1727
18Bournemouth2976162947-1827
19Aston Villa2874173456-2225
20Norwich CityNorwich2956182552-2721
Scroll for more - Tap for full version

Subscribe to our Newsletter


Transfer Talk Daily
Match previews - twice weekly
Morning Briefing (7am UTC)
UC
Get the latest transfer news, match previews and news direct to your inbox!

Loading ...

Failed to load data.

Premier League Table
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Liverpool29271166214582
2Manchester CityMan City28183768313757
3Leicester CityLeicester29165858283053
4Chelsea29146951391248
5Manchester UnitedMan Utd29129844301445
6Wolverhampton WanderersWolves29101364134743
7Sheffield UnitedSheff Utd28111073025543
8Tottenham HotspurSpurs29118104740741
9Arsenal2891364036440
10Burnley29116123440-639
11Crystal Palace29109102632-639
12Everton29107123746-937
13Newcastle UnitedNewcastle2998122541-1635
14Southampton29104153552-1734
15Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton29611123240-829
16West Ham UnitedWest Ham2976163550-1527
17Watford2969142744-1727
18Bournemouth2976162947-1827
19Aston Villa2874173456-2225
20Norwich CityNorwich2956182552-2721
Scroll for more - Tap for full version
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
X

We value your privacy

A part of our GDPR compliance we need to ask for your consent. We and our partners use technology such as cookies on Sports Mole to personalise content and ads, provide social media features, and analyse our traffic. Click below to consent to the use of this technology on Sports Mole.