Graham Potter

We want to help the players be more comfortable in their own skin, a bit braver, a bit more aware and more understanding of each other.

If you identify those guys - something we have done in the past - who are not as valued in the current market for whatever reason and you look to get them to play at a higher level than where they have come from. That's how you develop the team.

But any squad needs players who are hungry to do well, with their careers ahead of them. That's important for the dynamic of the group, but it also needs a balance of guys who have seen it, done it and have that quality of leadership. It is all about the quality of the player.

If you can have a career as a footballer for 13 years then you're really lucky, but there will probably be plenty of supporters up and down the country saying that I wasn't a top player, to put it kindly. That's for sure.

My playing career that was a bit up but mostly down. I played in the Premier League at Southampton but most of my career was in the lower divisions.

They're human beings before they're footballers and it's important to understand how can I help them. What do they need? How can they feel part of this? How can they feel they're improving in their career, because my job is to help them get better, play better football, earn a better contract, whatever it is.

Like everybody I needed to learn to be a coach, I needed to practise that and make mistakes in a decent environment where I could develop myself and not fear I was going to lose my job.

Whenever you start a new job, it's always a bit daunting, the unknown.

The profile is to find if someone can perform in the Championship and help you win, and also play in the Premier League because that has to be the goal.

The competition that is the Premier League is the biggest challenge in itself. It's my job to get the players to believe that they can go in to every match and win.

But the concept that it's important to understand the individual and the person, as well as the footballer, is a helpful concept, regardless of the competition.

Football is quite easy when you're doing well and winning games. It's when things aren't so good and they get tough, that's when the character and attitude stand up.