Adam Lallana says Graham Potter being linked with other Premier League jobs shows how well the club is progressing.
The head coach has reiterated his intention to stay with Albion, which is music to the ears of Lallana.
“I believe him when he says that,” said Lalllana. “Of course it’s nice to hear your manager say that because we live in an industry where good players get touted and bought, good managers get poached, that’s the way of the world.
“When someone is doing well at a club you run the risk of clubs with bigger financial muscle coming in, but that’s a compliment. Just like many of our players who will be linked with other clubs, we’ve got to take the speculation around the manager in our stride and ignore it to a degree, stay in our own little bubble and control what we can control.”
The 33-year-old has been impressed by the qualities Potter has demonstrated.
“Graham, from my experience with him, is a really deep thinker. Him and his staff do 12-hour days which you need to do if you want to be the best, you cannot leave any stone unturned.
“There are so many different dynamics to the team you need to look at. You’ve got a squad of 25 players, each of which are at a different stage in their career and life with different problems, but Graham and his team really do cover all bases.”
Albion now find themselves 13 points shy of their record Premier League points return with 28 so far this campaign and still have 17 games to play.
“At the beginning of the season, if you’d have said we’d finish in mid-table to anyone at the club, fans included, we’d have probably bitten your hand off,” added Lallana. “The club has fought relegation the past few years. I only joined at the beginning of last season, but I have been here long enough to know the club is going in a fantastic direction, from top to bottom it’s run as well as any club that I have been at.
“The head coach is getting a lot of plaudits at the moment and rightly so, he’s building a fantastic squad with great balance.”