“Like I said before the game, I didn’t have any expectations,” Potter said. “I have nothing to say sorry for or apologise for. I did a good job, you can see the team is a good team. I took over when they were fourth from bottom in the Premier League and were probably the third-worst team.
“There is a lot of money raised in terms of player sales and a lot of good players on the pitch. I hope for their sake, the next managers do as good a job.”
Some of these managers who get a bit of relative success really allow it to go to their heads, don't they? He'd have been better off saying nothing about Brighton at all - except to compliment them on a great victory. He was on a hiding to nothing whatever he said about them. By taking credit for their team (no matter how self-evidently true much of it is), he is making it all about him. Perhaps the recruitment was good - or even the players themselves who managed to get themselves a move. Maybe the new manager has done well to get some stellar results out of what was left behind?
All in all, Potter looked a diminished figure yesterday - and it wasn't just the result that diminished him.