'It was difficult': Ex-Sunderland coach opens up on his 'crazy' spell at the Stadium of Light

Former Sunderland coach John Potter has opened up on his ‘crazy’ spell at the Stadium of Light - as he and Jack Ross prepare for another tough assignment at Hibernian.
Watch more of our videos on Shots! 
and live on Freeview channel 276
Visit Shots! now

Having faced champions Celtic last weekend, Potter and Ross are now preparing their Hibs side to face a resurgent Rangers.

And ahead of the game, Potter – who was first team coach at the Stadium of Light during Ross’ reign – has reflected on his spell on Wearside.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

While the 40-year-old admits things were ‘a wee bit crazy’ at times, he believes his spell at the Academy of Light helped develop him as a coach which meant it was a tough decision when Ross and Hibs came calling.

Ex-Sunderland coach John PotterEx-Sunderland coach John Potter
Ex-Sunderland coach John Potter

"It was difficult in terms of I really, really enjoyed my job down there,” said Potter, speaking to the Daily Record.

“It's a brilliant club with really good people.

“It can be a wee bit crazy at times but it's a really, really good club.

“When he [Ross] first went down it was a bit all over the place in terms of players not wanting to be there, some wanting to be there and we had a big turnaround of staff and players.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“From my own point of view, I developed by dealing with high profile players, players on a lot higher wages and it can be difficult playing two games a week, every week.

“The travel, the time you get to train, it is a big difference from being up in Scotland. There were certain things I thought I did quite well, certain things I'd do slightly differently but that's the same in every walk of life.”

Now reunited with Ross, Potter is hoping for a touch more normality as the duo bid to transform Hibs.

“The opportunity to come somewhere like this and work with Jack again was really important to me,” he added.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“It's an opportunity I wanted to take straight away, as soon as it could be all sorted out. It gone done reasonably quickly. To work with Jack again was the main factor.

“This might be a little bit more normal...we'll see!"