Graham Potter is prepared to make himself look "an idiot" in his attempt to restore Chelsea to Premier League title challengers.
The 47-year-old replaced Thomas Tuchel as head coach in September and has suffered just one defeat in his 11 matches in charge. Yet mistakes have been made, the most notable of which was against Brighton last weekend. Potter opted to use Christian Pulisic and Raheem Sterling as wing-backs in an attacking 3-1-3-3 system and it contributed to Chelsea suffering a painful 4-1 loss at the Amex Stadium.
That tactical decision received much scorn and criticism from supporters and pundits alike – and Potter himself conceded it was the incorrect approach. However, that experience will not deter Potter from taking bold decisions in the name of progress. He is unafraid of making mistakes.
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"I wouldn’t say I'm experimenting; I do have an idea of how I want us to play football," the Blues head coach explained ahead of the Premier League clash against Arsenal on Sunday. "I think it depends on where the players are at and what we have and when injured ones come back.
"I think you have to remember when you are trying to do something new, there will be a chance it goes wrong. You always have to be prepared for that. That sounds a bit strange because you should come across as this all-knowing person with all the answers but the reality of making progress and the reality of doing something different and new is you have to prepare to be an idiot.
"If it goes wrong or it fails then you are open to criticism. The flip side of that is if you don’t anything and you just do the same stuff then nothing changes. And it's that balance. You have to have the courage to do that and accept the consequences when it doesn’t go your way."
Potter was chosen by Chelsea's new ownership group to succeed Tuchel because of his track record of achieving success on the pitch – relative to the clubs he had previously coached – and his ability to work collaboratively within a football hierarchy.
That hierarchy is still being assembled at Stamford Bridge. Thus far, Laurence Stewart has been hired as technical director and Joe Shields has been brought in as co-director of recruitment. Further appointments will be confirmed in the weeks ahead as Todd Boehly, Behdad Eghbali and Jose E. Feliciano reshape how Chelsea operate.
And Potter has explained what influence he will have going forward. "I am not sitting here determining everything," he said. "I am the head coach. But the football idea has to be led that way – by the football. Then it's about support. It’s a conversation, it’s support and collaboration. I think that’s how this club is and how it wants to go forward so that’s really important.
Potter added: "I have had nothing but support from the owners. They have been very level-headed, very sensible, very supportive, very caring about the team, the club, and about me. We are at the start and this is the job: you have one defeat and it’s the end of the world.
"It isn’t quite that but we understand that. You only have to look across at Arsenal and Man City and Liverpool and all the successful teams. They have all had times when it hasn’t gone in a straight line. You have to deal with the disappointments and setbacks and move forward."
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