Is case of opportunity knocks
People can be snobby about the merits of football outside England – in an age where the self-styled ‘best league in the world’ dominates – but it would take a particularly spiteful kind of churlishness to dismiss the scale of that achievement.
Profiles of him use recurring words and phrases. Ambitious, hungry to learn, innovative, resourceful, a man of integrity, open-minded.
The latter is clear for a man whose coaching staff at Ostersunds includes a pilates instructor – his wife Rachel – and a social coach.
Players have put on a production of Swan Lake for the local community, and staged concerts. It has taken them out of their comfort zone but brought them closer together as a group.
“The thing is that those methods have led to players who where mediocre in other teams, that the top teams did not want, have become players for their national teams,” says journalist Daniel Kristofferson of Swedish publication Expressen.
“Ken Sema and Saman Ghoddos are the best examples of that. IFK Norrköping and Malmö did not want them, but they have been successful at Ostersunds.”
It is just one example of Potter’s willingness to seek out new methods or new challenges when he feels they are beneficial.
He hung up his boots – after making more than 300 league appearances in a playing career spanning 13 years and 11 clubs – at the age of just 30.
He had stopped enjoying it and sought the next step in coaching. But, having found progressing through the UEFA licence system unfulfilling he opted to head into higher education.
He spent time at the University of Hull and Leeds Beckett University – then known as Leeds Met – completing a Master’s degree in Leadership and Emotional Intelligence alongside his coaching duties at the latter.
He already had a degree in social sciences, always looking to learn, always striving to improve.
“Self-awareness. Empathy. Responsibility. Motivation. Relationship-building,” Potter said of what that Master’s course had taught him in a first-person piece for the Coaches Voice website.
“You need to know about football to coach, but you need to know about people, too.
“Sometimes that can be the difference. It’s about how you bring a team together. How you communicate as a team. How you understand each other. And, ultimately, how you unite the group for a common cause.”
Few people would have taken the opportunity at Ostersunds, but Potter grasped it with both hands.
He has openly admitted his wife Rachel – who had run her own business for a decade – had not been keen. Potter promised if things were not right after a year, they would return to the UK.
By the time that period was up, Ostersunds had been promoted and their amazing journey was under way. In the intervening years, fans at home games have displayed banners saying ‘Thank you, Rachel’ in ode to Mrs Potter’s willingness to enter into their Scandinavian adventure.
Potter and his family made considerable sacrifices to take up the role – which owed something to the advice of ex-Swans assistant Grae- me Jones – he was prepared to tread where others would have hesitated.
Not surprisingly, all this has engendered a sense of tangible clarity in Potter. There is a video on the Coaches Voice website in which he outlines the tactics utilised in helping Ostersunds stun Galatasaray in the qualifying rounds of the Europa League. It’s well worth a watch.
The former England Under-21 cap sits in front of a tactics board and moves around various markers to outline his approach.
Among the more interesting aspects of this clip – in which Potter makes complex inter-related movements sound straightforward – comes when he is mapping out Ostersunds first goal in the tie.
Most of us would just move the forward players in order to illustrate how the ball ended up in the net. Potter does this, but it’s noticeable that, as he does so, he also rearranges where his midfielders, defenders and wing-backs should be. It’s the full picture, not just a section of it.
He had found British football largely uninspiring and it is telling that – in a manner not dissimilar to Swansea’s rise – it took a different football philosophy to help Ostersunds build up their head of steam.
“Ostersunds play very attractive passing football,” says Kristofferson.
“It is always short passes, never long balls. They try to play out of every situation, normally using a 4-3-3 or 3-5-2 formation.
“He knows how to build a team, handle players and has tactical awareness. He’s not afraid to change tactics if needed.”
For Swansea fans, those words will serve as a clarion call to the nottoo-distant past. But to foster such an approach Potter knew he would need to get his players to buy into the plan, even when things went wrong.
Looking to play a possession-based game was always going to be anathema in the lower leagues, regardless of the country, and the process of adapting was not always smooth.
Mistakes, inevitably were made, the challenge was to ensure any errors did not lead to a loss of faith in the gameplan.
“I was the only person on my course from a sporting background. The others were mostly surgeons who recognised the need for extra awareness around emotional intelligence,” said Potter.
“And the lecturer had a military background. It was fascinating to learn how different environments looked at different concepts. One thing that really resonated with me was thinking about how we deal with failure.
“In football, we focus on the mistake. We want to blame something, or someone. But in the military and the operating theatre – life-anddeath situations – it’s the opposite. It’s about how you deal with the mistake. And creating an environment that allows you to learn from it.”
While the on-field developments at Ostersunds have been staggering, the off-field approach has also attracted attention.
As well as the aforementioned Swan Lake production, other concerts have been performed by the squad, they have worked with comedy troupes and hip-hop artists.
Some will raise eyebrows, and Potter himself has said it is not something he would feel able to do in all environments, but he believes it has been incredibly beneficial.
“People ask what ballet or singing has to do with performing on a football pitch,” he said.
“It’s a hard thing to quantify. But you see individuals grow.
“And if you’re more confident, more self-aware, better at taking responsibility and at understanding the viewpoints of others, then I believe it enables you to carry out your football actions in a better, clearer way.”
That word again, clarity.
He may succeed, he may fail, but his potential appointment is a major opportunity for him, and for his employer to take the chance to wipe the slate clean with a smart, resourceful young manager.