Brighton & Hove Albion boss Roberto De Zerbi explains how he changed his approach at the Premier League club saying he could not replicate what Graham Potter had done.
De Zerbi was hired by Brighton in September, replacing Potter who had signed for Chelsea.
His Premier League debut was an impressive 3-3 draw at Anfield against Liverpool, but it was followed by three defeats in the following four matches, including against Antonio Conte’s Tottenham and Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City.
During his latest interview with Sky Sport Italia, De Zerbi described his first meeting with Brighton’s directors.
“They [my agents] called me to say that Brighton were interested and then we met in London. I listened to them and they listened to me. Both parties had to be satisfied with working together. After a few days, they called me again to say that they were ready to sign the contract,” he said.
De Zerbi won his first Premier League match against Potter’s Chelsea on October 29 and secured a second successive win away at Wolves the following week.
“Happiness must be supported by the conditions to do well,” continued the Italian tactician.
“One can’t be happy with just sitting on an important bench. I am happy when I can express myself and if I can work as I want, if not it’s not worth it.
“It was a difficult situation and it is still difficult, but it depends on the attitude. I didn’t think I was better than him [Potter]. Everything can be good or bad depending on the perspective. When I arrived, I respected all that had been done before.
“I still benefit from his job, I didn’t want to change much, both tactically and in terms of players’ habits. However, after while, I made them [Brighton] understand that I was not Potter. I had to be myself. I could not do what another coach was doing, so I started to include some of my ideas.
“Sometimes I wanted to do more, but we are at a good point now. I believe many things are becoming as I want them to be, this is why I thanked Potter. Clearly, when you take over at a team sitting fourth, you can only do worse.”
Brighton eliminated Arsenal from the Carabao Cup by beating the Gunners 3-1 in London but lost the last Premier League match before the World Cup break against Aston Villa at home.
De Zerbi, a former Foggia and Sassuolo boss, has signed a four-year deal with Brighton.
During the same interview with Sky Sport Italia, which was aired in full today in Italy, De Zerbi also discussed his rapport with Pep Guardiola who he described as the ‘best coach of the last 30 years.’