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Potter to utilise squad in double-header

Albion head coach Graham Potter says that this weekend’s double-header against Crawley Town and Fulham respectively is a chance to assess the entirety of his squad back on home soil.

By Alex Stedman • 19 July 2019

The Seagulls head to The People’s Pension Stadium tonight having recorded a 5-2 win over FC Liefering last time out in pre-season on Saturday, and the new boss revealed the likely make-up of the side that will take to the field up the A23 this evening. 

He said, “We’ll split the squad up over the two matches this weekend and we’ll probably take a slightly younger group to Crawley.

“We want to make sure we have a good look at those guys as a collective, whilst taking a slightly older group to Fulham on the Saturday.

“Essentially it will still be the same in terms of trying to build the fitness and the ideas with minutes ahead of the new season throughout the two groups we do take, and we’re looking forward to both.

“We have no new knocks, and everyone’s been fine in terms of fitness after Austria so far, so we’ll carry on with our work. The more players we have the bigger headache for me, but it’s good to have to make those decisions.

“The two matches this weekend are another opportunity to get more information about the squad of players that we have.” 

By Paul Hazlewood

The Seagulls returned back to England from their pre-season tour of Austria at the start of this week, and Potter reflected on the positive signs he’s seen from his players since he’s been in the role.

“It’s been so far so good as far as I’m concerned, and the players have responded really well. Everyone around the club has been fantastic and welcoming, the people around the city have been great and supportive,” he continued.

“The application has been brilliant, we’ve been away on tour and done all of the normal things. We’re still getting to know each other at this stage but we’re really happy with how things have gone.

“The game with Watford is just over three weeks away but we still have a lot of work to do and we have to use that time in the best way we can to prepare to be competitive.”

Matt Clarke and Leandro Trossard have been the two arrivals of the summer so far, with the transfer window closing on Thursday 8th August, two days before the first game of the 2019/20 campaign.

Potter looked at his two new recruits and how they’ve settled in so far, before turning his attentions to the subject of retaining players as well.

“We’ve done good business so far and everybody’s role within the football club is to carry on assessing the squad and seeing how we can improve.

“Both Matt and Leo are good characters who are at good stages of their careers, so we’re looking forward to helping them progress.

“Then it’s about if those players become available, we might do something, but at the same time I’m really with happy how the group have responded.”

“All of the players have been professional and reacted well to the ideas, speculation is part of football and it’s common at this time of the year. 

“We’ll just carry on working and our position is very clear.  We offer a really good environment for players to keep on improving and develop in the best league in the world.”