Potter is a fine coach, but now Chelsea need a ruthless leader

SPEAKING last week, before another standout win as Tottenham’s stand-in boss, Cristian Stellini explained the difference between a coach and a manager.

- Dan Kilpatrick

Tottenham 2

Skipp 46, Kane 82

Chelsea 0

A coach, Stellini said, thinks only about improving players and creating a positive environment in training, while a manager has to worry about making big decisions and ultimately “feel the responsibility” for every aspect of the team.

Stellini is primarily a coach, but he is also proving an astute manager in the absence of Antonio Conte, albeit with constant guidance from the latter, who is expected to return to work this week after recuperating from surgery in Italy.

Yesterday’s 2-0 victory over Chelsea — sealed by second-half goals from Oliver Skipp and Harry Kane — maintained Stellini’s 100 per cent record from four matches this season and ensured he has overseen three of Tottenham’s best League wins over the campaign since Conte fell ill.

As Stellini’s reputation as a manager-in-waiting grows, so too does the pressure on Graham Potter, whose last three top-flight wins with Chelsea span four months.

The terms ‘head coach’ and ‘manager’ are more or less synonymous in English football today, but there is little doubt as to which category best suits Potter.