Being a regular top-ten club was part of a new vision unveiled by chairman Tony Bloom last week, and Alan Pardew, who managed Potter at Reading, feels the club has pulled off a coup in appointing him.
Pardew who’s overseen more than 300 games as a Premier League manager at Crystal Palace, Newcastle United, Charlton Athletic and West Ham United has been aware of Potter’s ability for some time.
Speaking as a guest on Sky Sports show Goals on Sunday he said, “Graham was always an articulate and intelligent kind of guy. I liked him and always felt he had a way about him that might help him produce something else further down the line.
“He’s a thinking person. He has an intelligence about him and I think he can move forward in the game. Dan Ashworth’s at the club as technical director, and it’s great to have that kind of experience behind him.
“With the owner Tony Bloom, that’s a club who I think can have a big year, and it’s not just that result yesterday. They have a real chance of the top ten. That would be a real achievement.
“He’s got momentum, he’s got a belief in what he does and he’s trying to get that across to the players. It will come unstuck, and it will at some point, but it’s how they react to that. He’s got a lot still to learn and he knows that.”
Pardew also revealed he tried to recruit Potter while he was out in Sweden.
He added, “He ended up at Ostersunds and did an unbelievable job. He went out to Sweden as he wasn’t going to get a job here, and suddenly he got some great results in Europe.
“I went and met him and talked to him about coming to England for a couple of things. I really like him and I think he’ll be a massive success at Brighton.
“He’s already shown at Swansea the type of football he wants to play and that he’s a modern coach. It’s a bit of a coup getting him."