Ostersund FK manager Graham Potter has received plenty of praise for his unorthodox methods off the pitch in building the right mentality and attitude amongst his players, but he’s also impressed on the pitch with his flexible tactics and ability to switch between multiple systems during games.
Back in February this year, ahead of their Europa League second leg clash against Arsenal, after winning the first leg at the Emirates 2-1, former Celtic and Sweden legend Henrik Larsson told the Independent about Potter’s impressive methods.
‘All the players knew exactly what they were doing’
“The way he is able to change his pattern of play during games is so impressive,”
“I remember scouting them when I was at Helsingborg. They played all different kinds of systems, starting off a match one way, and then halfway through they started playing a different system, and then they ended up with a third system.
And all the players knew exactly what they were doing.” – Henrik Larsson
Potter’s Training Methods
Lawrence Ostlere for the Independent also explained Potter’s training methods, saying:
“Potter’s training sessions are almost entirely with the ball, and are focused on each player finding a solution to the specific problems he will face on the weekend.”
One of the founding members of Ostersund FK, formed just 22 years ago in 1996, Lasse Landin said that Potter is far more than just a good football coach, but also has made full use of his masters degree in Leadership and Emotional Intelligence to “build a human being”:
“I remember the first year, I sat down and had a chat with Graham, most football coaches only talk about formations, but Graham was talking about the learning process and how to build a human being.
He was totally different as a football coach. For me, as a former teacher, it was amazing. He understands that the players and the staff are humans, and knows how to get as much as possible from every individual without taking the group feeling away.
“And of course he is a very, very good coach; he knows how and what to do in the game to get points. That happens not every game but nearly every game, that you can see how he can make changes at half-time to make a big impact. I try as often as I can to attend his pre-match meetings. It’s very interesting to understand more about the tactical solutions drawn up for the next game. He can identify changes without taking away our way of playing.”
