Graham Potter confident he still has full support of Brighton owner Tony Bloom
Brighton boss Graham Potter believes he retains the full support of club owner Tony Bloom.
Potter’s position has come under increased scrutiny following a dismal start to the season which has brought just two Premier League wins from 16 games.
Albion, who won only one top-flight home game throughout 2020, sit two points above the relegation zone ahead of Saturday’s visit of Wolves.
Potter admits the ambition of Seagulls fan Bloom was a key factor in attracting him to the Amex Stadium in May 2019 and insists he has complete confidence in his chairman’s judgement.
“There’s nothing to give me any indication that I don’t have the full support of the chairman,” said Potter.
“The chairman isn’t a normal guy – he’s not like you or me, or the vast majority of people in football.
“I think he’s a unique person and that’s one of the reasons why I came to this club.
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“He’s made a huge success of his life, a huge success of this club, and he’s done it with a clarity of thought and a thinking that is incredibly impressive.
“My trust is in him and, at the end of the day, whatever he thinks is right for Brighton and Hove Albion is absolutely fine for me.”
Brighton head into the new year on a seven-game winless streak following Tuesday’s 1-0 loss to Arsenal at the Amex Stadium.
The Seagulls’ prolonged slump has led to growing discontent among sections of the club’s fanbase.
Potter understands the dissatisfaction of supporters but insists the situation is far from “all doom and gloom”.
He believes his side’s performances have been encouraging and also pointed to the development of a handful of players.
“Everybody is entitled to do their own analysis of our performances and decide whether we have been unlucky or not. But if you haven’t got luck, you can quite easily be where we are now,” said Potter.
“I can understand if people are critical of that and I can understand if people are disgruntled at that, and they’ve got every right to be.
“There are positives, for me. The performances have been positive, the players individually have been positive.
“If you look to the likes of Solly March playing probably the best football of his career, Yves Bissouma probably playing the best football of his career, the emergence of Tariq Lamptey as one of the most exciting young players in the country, Adam Webster and Dan Burn coming from the Championship, stroke League One, and competing in the Premier League.
“I think Lewis Dunk as a captain has developed and grown and grown, playing at a really high level, Neal Maupay has scored five goals, which I think is the same as (Arsenal striker Pierre-Emerick) Aubameyang.
“There are lots of things that we can improve, of course. But I don’t think it’s all doom and gloom either.”