On Thursday evening the only English manager left in European competition will attempt to overturn a 0-2 deficit to book his side’s place in the Europa League.
And yet that will not be as hard as it seems as the man at the helm of Swedish minnows Östersunds FK has already overseen a victory over Turkish giants Galatasaray in the previous qualifying round and yet that is far from the start of his achievements.
Graham Potter is not a familiar name to many football fans with the exception of perhaps, Stoke, West Brom and York City but he will be known all over the continent if his side can turn round their two legged tie with Greek side PAOK.
The story of both his and his club’s rise to Europe is truly the stuff of Football Manager legend and yet it is already a reality.
Not many from these shores have chosen Scandinavia as a place to prosper, in fact only Roy Hodgson (with whom Potter inevitably draws comparisons) and former Sunderland goalkeeper turned journalist & pundit David Preece spring to mind.
However, after hanging up his boots after a solid professional career, the journeyman full-back went to university where, after working as a football development manager for the University of Hull and then Leeds, he completed a master's in leadership and emotional intelligence.
Seven years ago he got his first break, travelling to the middle of Sweden to take over at the then fourth tier side. Bemused locals wished him well but thought him mad to have come in the first place.
Their light hearted mockery has since turned to disbelief as three promotions in five seasons followed and in their first season in the Swedish top flight, the team Sweden’s ‘Winter City’ beat IFK Norrköping in the Swedish Cup final to secure the club’s first ever piece of silverware and a place in the Europa League qualifiers.
Nobody will be quite so mocking of the man from Solihull if his team can upset the odds once again, but even if they do not manage it this time there is every chance Graham Potter could be a name that is linked with some of the top jobs in the UK in the near future.
