There are not too many football coaches who have completed a degree in leadership and emotional intelligence. Even fewer are working at the very top echelon of the European game. Yet Graham Potter has achieved both feats and it enables him to provide educated and erudite insight into how to motivate top-level players.
Potter has inherited many since taking charge at Chelsea last month - Champions League winners; a World Cup victor; World Club Cup champions. They all sit inside the Stamford Bridge dressing room and are all desperate to play come matchday. Inevitably, many will be left disappointed.
The challenge for Potter – and any elite coach – is to keep these players onside, to ensure they feel a valued and important member of the squad. A delicate touch is required. "Six weeks ago, the narrative would've been that I didn't have any experience dealing with these massive egos, these guys walking around apparently with all these complex problems," Potter explained on Friday.
