I’d love a Pep talk more often, admits

GRAHAM POTTER has just pitted his wits against Mikel Arteta, Antonio Conte and Pep Guardiola – and his only regret is he didn’t get to chat with them for longer.

Potter’s Brighton had away wins at Arsenal and Spurs and a defeat at the Etihad, in which they held the champions to a goalless first half.

He also guided Brighton to a draw at Anfield against Jurgen Klopp’s

Liverpool earlier in the season but, as his side prepare to take on Southampton today, he wishes there was some way of picking the brains of the top managers he faces.

“Sadly, you don’t get to speak to them too much, which is a bit of a shame because there is a fountain of knowledge there,” he said.

“The way the game is, people go off and there’s not that dialogue.

“But, of course, I respect all of them, they are fantastic managers and, just to play against them and watch their teams, you learn a lot.

“You see how they prepare, and their ideas and what they are trying to do.

“I think how fortunate I am to have the kind of top experience of playing at Tottenham, for instance, in a fantastic stadium against one of the people I admire most in football.

“Then to have that experience quickly followed by Pep Guardiola at Manchester City. It doesn’t get much better than that. You can learn every day from those experiences.

“Right now, you’re just focusing on the games and you have to learn from the experience of playing against each other, instead.”