Why new owners are so eager to have Potter at the wheel

Roman's hire-and-fire policy ditched as club eye 'project' coach who will be given time

- Dan Kilpatrick

GRAHAM POTTER is the chosen one for Chelsea's new owners, but he would have been unlikely to top Roman Abramovich's shortlist of replacements for Thomas Tuchel.

With the exception of Frank Lampard, Chelsea's former owner appointed celebrated managers who were proven winners, but the only trophies to Potter's name are the Swedish Cup and secondand third-division titles with Ostersund.

For all the talk that Tuchel's sacking suggests Chelsea are continuing Abramovich's hire-and-fire model, their choice of successor to the German points to a very different strategy.

Potter, who is expected to be appointed as Chelsea's new manager before the weekend, is a project' coach, who prefers to work within a defined structure and will need time to tweak the culture and implement his style of play at Stamford Bridge.

He did not immediately win over Brighton fans, even considering the modest expectations on the south coast, but gradually built an attractive side in his own image, which has proved far greater than the sum of its parts.

But they got better year on year, despite being forced to sell players, notably Marc Cucurella to Chelsea and Yves Bissouma to Tottenham this summer, illustrating Potter's talent as a training-ground coach and ability to build a structure that was bigger than individuals.