Before facing Manchester City in the FA Cup the manager discusses the job’s surprises and says he has been advised just to close his eyesGraham Potter is shaking his head. The Swansea manager has just been told that if you type his name and Pep Guardiola’s into Google, the first story that appears is “Potter is just like Pep”. “Really?” says Potter, looking baffled. The headline came from an interview Bersant Celina gave at the start of the season, after swapping Manchester City for Swansea. Asked for his thoughts now he has the full picture, Potter breaks into laughter as he replies: “Sometimes players say some silly things.”The conversation is not quite finished, however. A reference to Potter’s footballing beliefs prompts the 43-year-old to acknowledge, with a fair bit of encouragement, that there may be some “similar philosophical comparisons” to Guardiola. Any other parallels? “If you look at his career, he’s been influenced by Cruyff and played at Barcelona. I had Brian Horton and Macclesfield. It’s slightly different, no disrespect to Brian Horton,” Potter says, smiling. Related: Watford’s Adrian Mariappa: ‘I can’t see myself going back to eating meat’ It’s quite a negative situation and it’s trying to get through that to the point where people can see progress Related: Swansea v Manchester City: match preview Related: How Swansea City went from model club to desperate cautionary tale | Stuart James Continue readingreadfullarticle
