Gus Poyet: Graham Potter the best bet for Chelsea

Gus Poyet was one of the brightest stars in the Premier League when he was scoring goals from midfield playing for Chelsea and Tottenham.

The former Uruguay international then moved into the dugout with stints in charge of Sunderland, Leeds and Brighton - and he is now the current manager of the Greece national side.

Poyet spoke exclusively to Midnite in the wake of Thomas Tuchel’s sacking by Chelsea, detailing why he thinks Graham Potter will succeed at his former club - and why Brighton’s whole footballing project is under threat because of the managerial changes.

He also claimed:

• Erling Haaland is a better goalscorer than Harry Kane - he will break every record in football
• It will be near-impossible for Brighton to replace Potter
• Sooner or later a manager has to let Mason Mount play in his best position if we are to see him at his best.

Here’s Poyet’s exclusive thoughts on a wide range of topics relating to his former clubs and the Uruguay national team.

Poyet on Graham Potter’s move to Chelsea

When Chelsea come calling, you don’t think twice - Potter had no choice but to take the job

“I heard people say 'Potter needs to think if it's the right time'. He doesn't need to think twice, when Chelsea comes knocking on your door, there's no bad or wrong time, you need to take the opportunity.

“Obviously you need to discuss the staff, length of the contract, the termination of the contract, but if you are happy to join, you must take the job. It's a big challenge, it's the right time for him, unfortunately for Brighton. Let's hope Chelsea give him time, especially in the football and identity side. They need to win because they're Chelsea, but it's a new group, new manager, no pre-season.

Potter knows what he’s signed up for - he’ll be aware he will be out if he doesn’t deliver

“Potter knows what he signed up for. All of us managers think we are prepared to manage Real Madrid tomorrow if needed, but we don't know how to handle it - when you start dealing with the chairman, the owner, with the pressure of constantly winning trophies.

“Remember, Chelsea are a team that needs to win trophies, and they did not win any domestic ones last year. We've seen in the past, coaches who have won the Premier League or the double, if they don't perform the following season, they're out.

“It happened to Mourinho, Ancelotti, Conte, Di Matteo and now to Tuchel. This gives you a good idea of what could happen. It's a new owner, we don't know what is going to happen, but let's think Potter is going to have time for sure.”

Potter has the philosophy to succeed

Yes, his philosophy is clear, he can convince the players like he did at Brighton, even when they lost players, they kept performing. Having the chance to coach better quality players, even with the pressure that brings, you need to deal with different characters, I'm convinced it's the right time for him.

The World Cup is a godsend for Potter, he’ll get a pre-season to impose himself on Chelsea

“If they start well and start winning, the players will be convinced in five minutes. If you don't win, depending on the characters of the players, it could take longer. But Chelsea already have the three at the back system ready for Potter, like how he played at Brighton, he'll have very experienced players.

“The more games he wins before the World Cup, the better for him. The World Cup is a big positive for Potter, people forget about it.

“The World Cup is a magnificent opportunity for Potter, because now he knows he has September, October and two weeks in November, that's it. Then he will have a pre-season where everyone starts from zero. It will be like a new season for him.

“Potter won't have all the players because of the World Cup, the difference would be he needs to win something from January to May, but the World Cup will help to develop his system, because it's like two seasons in one.

My experience after joining Spurs shows why Chelsea could never have appointed Pochettino

“In terms of experience and dealing with football stars, Pochettino might have been the choice. But it would be hypocritical from Chelsea.

“When I went to Tottenham, they wanted to kill me for a few years. Now they want a Tottenham coach, so how does that work? Not when it suits me but for Pochettino?

"Unfortunately for Pochettino, that will always be a handicap for a club like Chelsea, they don't want his affiliation with Tottenham.

“When names started coming out, 'Chelsea have an agreement with Potter', then 15 minutes later 'Chelsea keen on talking to Pochettino', then another 15 minutes later 'Chelsea want Zinedine Zidane'. If nobody knows I'll tell you, clubs put names out to see the reaction of the fans, and when the fans react in a crazy way towards one manager, the club will focus on the other ones.

“It's a dangerous move, because it puts the club in a situation where they don't make the managerial appointment for good reason, more for the popularity among the fans, it's a difficult one to work. The decision Boehly needs to make now is who is the best candidate, if it's Potter? then fair enough, he might have preferred Pochettino? We'll never know.”

Boehly has made all the calls - he has to take responsibility if it goes wrong

“He’s the owner, he’s put the money in, he buys who he wants. I'm sure he will accept the responsibility if it does go wrong, because you can't do all of that and blame someone else. If he spends the money and takes the responsibility, I'm happy, I'm sure most of the Chelsea fans should be happy because it's his money.”

Potter has to show the players who is boss

“Potter needs the impact, he needs to show the players a coaching presence and he needs to make sure the players know what he wants from them. I'm not bothered about that, “Potter has been in the Premier League for a few years, it won't be a problem at all. Potter will need luck, like sometimes when a shot goes in off a post, that can change the situation for the next two months in a massive way.”

Chelsea and Liverpool are in the same situation, but Chelsea have shaken things up with new manager

“Chelsea are in the same situation as Liverpool, with the difference being the change of managers. They're both not consistent enough in the league and have lost their first game in the Champions League, which has created a bit of insecurity. It's too early to predict, but it will be nice to see the players to stand up or a new player to shake the squad. The reaction from Chelsea is a new manager, let's hope it works.”

Managers have to start using Mason Mount better

“Mason, in my opinion and respect to the coaches, Mount should have a certain position in the team and should play 90% of the time in that position. When you have a player like that who plays in different positions, it's hard for him to play at his best. When Mount plays close to the strikers, close to the box, Chelsea create an enormous number of chances to score goals, when you play him too wide or deep, he's a different player. That's my humble opinion.”

Aubameyang will be important for Chelsea

“I thought his first 20 minutes were outstanding, the movements, the way he ran in behind, the timing, I thought he would score three that game, then Chelsea lost. Aubameyang is a top striker, when you're in control of a game and players like Mount can find him, he will score goals. Aubameyang will be important for Chelsea this season.”

Chelsea’s clash with Fulham is massive now

“It's massive for many reasons. Big teams when they are in good form, never lose two games in a row, when you get a new manager, you want to start with a win. Any fan who has bet on football will know to be careful with Fulham though, they've grown stronger and stronger from last year, they've proven they are ready for the Premier League this season. It will depend on how quick Chelsea players learn the basics of Potter's system.”

Mitrovic has proved the doubters wrong - he’s killing it in the Premier League

“The good thing for Mitrovic, I'm pleased for him. What I like is that before he did not work at all, the media said he's a Championship player blah blah blah. Now boom, he's killing it. It was too early for the criticism - it's nice for a player to come to this level and prove he can score goals, he's not going to score 40 goals, but he can manage 15 to 20 goals.”

Chelsea v Liverpool is huge

“It's a key game for both teams, to prove themselves against another team that is up and down. This fixture has become a bigger and bigger game in the last 15 years, it's something important for both teams. But for Chelsea, now the key thing is to focus on the next games, forget about Liverpool, forget about the Champions League, focus on winning against Fulham first.”

Gus Poyet on Spurs

City v Spurs: A tantalising tactical tussle

“It's going to be very interesting to see both of the different setups. We saw with Spurs against Marseille, a team that sits back and makes it difficult. Then, slowly the Spurs start to get better in the second half. We've seen this before, Spurs struggled against Chelsea in the first half then they grew in the second half. I suppose against Man City, if Conte surprises us and presses high, it could be very interesting to see the two different styles.

“Who will take advantage of the other one's system's weakness more? It’s a very tactical game.”

Haaland will beat all the records in football

“I don't know if people remember, wherever you were, if you saw Real Madrid score, you knew it was Ronaldo, Barcelona score, you knew it was Messi, now it's Haaland! You watch any game, you hear Man City score, you know Haaland has scored.

“He's young as well, he's going to beat all the records in football, he's going to beat everybody, he's amazing. With Haaland and Mbappe now, in the next few years people will forget about Messi and Ronaldo, they're becoming so big and influential in the game it's crazy. We say at the moment Benzema is the one at the top at the moment, but the Premier League should be delighted to have a player like Haaland.”

Haaland better than Kane?

“They're different players, one is a top goalscorer, Haaland will always be there in the box, waiting for a cross, mistake, pass, like a proper killer. Kane is a great football player, especially in the last few years, he's started dropping and making things happen. Kane is an all-round football player, but I think Haaland is clear, you just know he's going to score even if he touches the ball five times in a game.”

How good is the signing of Richarlison?

“Richarlison is a very good buy, Tottenham always had problems to cover Harry Kane when he's injured. It's hard to find a player of that quality who can also play wide as well. There's plenty of things Richarlison can bring to the team.”

Gus Poyet on Liverpool

Darwin Nunez needs to adapt, but don’t compare him with Haaland

“They're different strikers. Darwin is a good player and will score goals, he just needs to play. He needs to adapt to the Premier League, he's made a mistake and now he realises that, now he needs to be careful, concentrate on scoring goals.

“You must score goals if you're playing in the middle of that front three of Liverpool. I really like him, I think he will be a very important player for Uruguay for the next 10 years. I'm looking forward to seeing him scoring goals.”

Klopp won’t suffer the same fate as Tuchel, though football is crazy sometimes

“I don't think so. Klopp is in a different situation to Tuchel, but football is football, it can happen. When I was training one monday morning, someone came and asked me to talk to the chairman, and I got the sack! So when you least expect it, you could be out, it happens. But Klopp has made that team, signed the players, I can't see it happening unless he has a really bad run of games.”

Gus Poyet on Facundo Pellistri at Manchester United

Facundo Pellistri is going to struggle for game time - for the good of Uruguay he should leave

“Yes, Pellistri will struggle to get game time. It would be good for him to go somewhere and play, because the World Cup is around the corner and he is very important for the Uruguay team because the coach [Diego Alonso] has lots of faith in his ability, he's a proper winger.

“He needs to find a place to play, like Luis Suarez who is playing at Nacional week in week out, training with the first team and getting game time three months before the World Cup, Pellistri should do something similar.”

Gus Poyet on Brighton

If Potter had stayed, could Brighton have achieved European football?

“It's difficult to say, because the league is long. The consistency needs to be there all the time, and you need to keep players fit. But top 10 for sure. Brighton 15 years ago was playing League One football, and now they're in this situation, it's magnificent, especially for the fans. Now the big question is who is next for the manager spot?”

Finding a replacement for Potter is near impossible

“For sure it's under threat. Brighton needs to bring someone similar to Potter, but it will be near impossible to get the same character. The way he speaks to the players, convinces them to play the way they do, it will be hard to replace, because every manager is different. The decision on the board and Tony Bloom, will be massive for the future of Brighton.”

I feel sorry for Billy Gilmour

“I feel sorry for Billy, he signed probably because Potter talked to him, now he's gone to Chelsea where Gilmour came from a week ago. We need to wait for the new coach, it's a very very difficult and strange situation, and really unlucky for Gilmour.”

Gus Poyet on Leeds

Jesse Marsch has got Leeds on the right track

“Leeds are a difficult team to play against. They know what they are doing, Marsch has brought something different from Bielsa and they are competing very well. But they can lose! Like Mourinho said, I'd rather lose one game 4-0 than lose four games 1-0, Leeds can have an occasional off game where they concede a lot but as long as they don't keep losing and react well the next game.”

Gus Poyet on Sunderland

Sunderland fans need to be realistic and look to remain in Championship

“Change of coaches is a problem already, change of style from Tony Mowbray is totally different. It will depend on how fit the two strikers are. They lost Ross Stewart in the warm-ups, with him on the pitch, they would have won against Middlesborough.

“It's a lot of responsibility for Ellis Simms. It depends how many games those two strikers play together. People start creating unrealistic aims, Sunderland should aim to stay comfortably in the Championship.”