Potter hopes ‘ketchup effect’ can preserve Brighton

Manager aiming for a late ‘splurt’ of victories Olympiacos ‘will exploit’ Traore’s shoulder injury

Graham Potter’s eight years as manager of Ostersund in the Swedish League taught him many things, one of which was der ketchup effekt.

The Brighton head coach is keeping fingers crossed it might be the thing that keeps his team clear of the relegation places as they hover a precarious two points above them.

They have gone nine games without a win in the Premier League, but have drawn six, including Saturday’s goalless encounter at Wolves.

“I’m hoping it’s the old ketchup effekt, as they say in Sweden,” said Potter (right). “It’s where you keep banging on the bottom of a ketchup bottle and then it all splurts out.”

The analogy is common in Sweden. In a sporting context, it is when a team end an unremarkable season with several spectacular wins.

The chances of Brighton’s season finishing in such a way might seem slim, given that four of their remaining five home fixtures are against Arsenal, Manchester United, Liverpool and Manchester City, but Potter is upbeat, particularly after emerging with a point and a clean sheet at Molineux, from a match of few chances in which theirs were arguably the best.

“We feel we can be competitive against anyone,” said Potter. “Wolves are as good as anyone, certainly at certain things. We had the feeling we weren’t the inferior team on the pitch. Against Sheffield United [where Brighton drew 1-1 two weeks ago] we probably deserved to lose. Today we deserved a point. We’ve been resilient and it’s just how we balance that defence and attack.”

Chances for Neal Maupay and Solly March in the first half might have swung this result their way. Wolves, who travel to Olympiacos on Thursday in the Europa League, were well short of their best, although head coach Nuno Espirito Santo tersely dismissed suggestions that 47 games so far were taking their toll. “It was nothing to do with that,” he said.

The fitness of pacy attacker Adama Traore is a concern. Used as a substitute just six days after dislocating his left shoulder for the third time in 16 matches, a clash with Dan Burn meant he landed on it heavily.

“He thought I’d done him, but I genuinely didn’t know which shoulder it was,” said Burn, protesting his innocence but admitting Traore would be targeted.

“I’m sure that it’s something Olympiacos will look at and exploit as a weakness.”