POTTER: I’VE GOT BAGGS OF RESPECT FOR BIG SAM
WEST BROM v BRIGHTON The Hawthorns: 3pm
GRAHAM POTTER admits Sam Allardyce has been an inspiration to him as a coach.
That may come as a surprise to those who see the West Brom boss as purely a long-ball advocate – whereas Potter’s Brighton are a neat short-passing team.
But Potter (above), whose side meet Big Sam’s team today in a relegation six-pointer, insists his rival is far more than just a survivor.
Brighton travel to the Hawthorns on the back of a demoralising stoppage-time defeat by Crystal Palace that plunged them right back into the relegation mire.
They lie just four points above the bottom three, while the Baggies are in deep trouble, 11 points from safety, and simply have to win.
Potter said: “I used to look up to Sam when I was a young coach.
“You’re looking at a man with fantastic experience at the highest level. He’s worked at a lot of clubs in the
Premier League.
“His Bolton team was a really exciting side, with players like Jay-jay Okocha. They played really attacking, effective football.
“You can’t have the career Sam has had without being incredibly competent.
“I have the utmost respect for people with that longevity. Just to survive in this game, you have to respect that.
“But Sam has not only survived, he’s improved his teams, improved the players and won matches.
“When people talk about coaching, to me, that’s it. There’s no right or wrong, there’s no, ‘My way’s better or worse than anybody else’s’. It’s, ‘Have you got a way and do you make it work?’ The answer with
Sam’s teams is yes.”
Asked why Allardyce does not get more respect for his work, Potter added: “He has huge respect from me. You look at the guy’s career and what he’s done over a period of time. That’s not a trend, that’s a quality of work.
That’s why football people have huge respect for Sam.”
Blackburn are without striker Sam Gallagher (bruised lung), Jacob Davenport, Lewis Holtby, Tom Trybull and Daniel Ayala.
Julien Dacosta (torn stomach muscle) misses out for Coventry along with striker Matty Godden
(foot).
BY
BOURNEMOUTH boss Jonathan Woodgate warned his players they need to become more streetwise to get their ailing promotion push back on track.
The Cherries dropped out of the top six after losing to play-off rivals Cardiff on Wednesday, and face another crunch clash at home to Watford today.
Woodgate (above) said: “We need to do better. This is a really tough league compared to the Premier League.
“It is a different ball game. You need to go longer at times and test teams in behind – everything cannot be in front of them, looking for the perfect goal.
“You have to get the ball wide and get the ball in the box. That is how this league works. We need to start winning games, starting with Watford.”
The Cherries were among the pre-season promotion favourites after dropping out of the Premier League last season, but captain Steve Cook admits they have underperformed.
He said: “We’re probably lucky to be still level with the play-off positions, with the number of games we’ve lost and given away.
“But the only positive thing I can say is we’ve got 14 games left and we’re still in there.”