Cucurella: Potter is a top head coach

Main Club Sponsor

TICKETS

SHOP

Spaniard delighted to work under Graham Potter.

Charlie Hanson

2022-05-28T06:00:00Z

Marc Cucurella won the Players' Player and Supporters' Player of the Season awards.

Marc Cucurella says Graham Potter showed how good he was as a coach when he guided Albion out of a difficult run of form.

We found ourselves on a six game losing run from mid-February to mid-March, but returned to form, winning five of our final nine games to secure a club record top-flight finish of ninth.

“I think he is a very good head coach and we have had a great season,” Cucurella said. “In the bad moments you find out whether you have a good manager or not. When we had lost six games in a row we had an international break and he helped us so much and improved things. We did really well after that.

The defender scored one goal for Albion, a fierce strike in the 4-0 demolition of Manchester United.

“We drew two and lost one, but the others we won – and the two we drew we could have won! That’s when you realise you have a great manager.

“He likes speaking to the players and asks us how we feel. He’s close to us and has confidence in us and that’s why things went so well.”

The 23-year-old more than impressed in his debut campaign at the Amex, but he reckons he couldn’t have done it without the support of his Spanish-speaking teammates.

“When I came here I tried to speak English but couldn’t really express myself. I mostly spoke to Alexis [Mac Allister] and Robert [Sanchez] because they speak Spanish.

“I felt a bit shy and I am normally the one who likes to make jokes but I didn’t really know how to make jokes! Little by little we started to understand each other and now I very much belong in that dressing room. They treat me very well.

“I try and make them laugh and they make me laugh. It’s important because if you get on well off the pitch then everything is better on the pitch.”