POTTER READY TO ADD THE SECRET SAUCE

FOR much of this season, Nuno Espirito Santo has been striving to keep a lid on things — on fan expectations and European dreams within his Wolves squad. For Graham Potter, the opposite is true. ‘I hope it’s the old ketchup effect, as they say in Sweden,’ he said after this goalless draw. ‘It’s like when you shake it and eventually it goes boom. It just splurts out.’ He was referring to Brighton’s long hunt for three points. It has been a while. Potter’s side have managed one win in 15 games and none since the turn of the year. As it stands, only two points separate Brighton and the drop zone at the start of a grim run of games. And yet for Tony Bloom, the Brighton chairman who took the train home alongside hundreds of their supporters, there were more slivers of hope at Molineux. The visitors played with authority and resilience, combining quality on the ball and mettle off it. But still no cutting edge. That has to change, and fast. ‘We need to get the points — however they come, against whoever,’ Potter (left) admitted. ‘We have respect for the opposition and league but we feel we can match teams. ‘Wolves are as good as anybody at certain things. We can’t fear it.’ The same goes for Potter. Many of his players have been in Premier League dogfights before. This is new ground for the former Ostersunds boss. ‘I’d be lying if I said it was enjoyable because it’s not pleasant. But at the same time it allows you to challenge yourself in a way you should be grateful for,’ he said. ‘Life isn’t about upward curves all the time. I would not have got to this point if I hadn’t been able to recover from setbacks and failures and mistakes.’ Or if he couldn’t squeeze something extra from that bottle.