POTTER: TIME TO BE QUIET
BY GRAHAM THOMAS BRIGHTON won’t be trying to rile Leeds into yet another red card at a hostile Elland Road today – Seagulls boss Graham Potter wants them to take the heat out of the game instead.
Relegation-threatened Leeds are certain to be firing on all cylinders as they desperately seek three points to get out of the drop zone.
But two sendings-off in the past two games, for Luke Ayling and Daniel James, have shown that their desire has a tendency to boil over.
Other teams might try to take advantage of that by winding up Leeds’ fiery players, but Potter takes a different view.
“You can’t control what the opposition do, but you can control your performance,” he said.
“It’s a hostile environment and they’re fighting for their lives – which we respect. They will want to make the game like they want it to be. We would like it to be more like we want it to be. That’s normal in football. “But if Elland Road is quiet and not hostile, it is better for us. That’s not rocket science.”
Potter’s plan won’t come as too much of a surprise, given he is renowned as one of the calmest managers in the Premier League, rarely getting involved in angry confrontations.
But the Brighton man says he is trying to be even calmer these days after regretting celebrating a goal in the face of Pep Guardiola (above) when Brighton beat Manchester City late last season.
Potter said: “I remember Man City at home last year when I was really emotional and not behaving well – that was not a good moment for me, personally.
“You reflect on that, because there is something in you that says, ‘That’s not me and I don’t want to be like that’. I’ve decided to change my mistake.”
Potter, whose side beat Manchester United 4-0 last Saturday, added: “We’ll be going out there to win.
“But it would be naive to think that we’re just going to turn up and finish off the game the way we played United the other night.
“Leeds are at home with their backs against the wall.”