Graham Potter's stormy season set to end on World Cup high with Sweden

Few coaches have experienced the highs and lows that Graham Potter has this season, which started with his sacking by Premier League club West Ham United in September and will end with him leading Sweden at the World Cup in June.

The Englishman's dismissal after one win in five Premier League games at West Ham was quickly followed by his appointment as Sweden coach in October.

Any residual disappointment was blown away at the end of March when a late Viktor Gyokeres goal secured a thrilling 3-2 playoff triumph over Poland, booking Sweden's ticket to the World Cup.

"It's amazing. I'm so grateful. I'm so, so proud, so happy to be here. The game against Poland was just the best experience I've ever had in football," Potter told Reuters in an interview at the Swedish Football Association (SvFF) offices, a day after revealing his World Cup squad.

The affable 50-year-old appears relaxed and comfortable, a far cry from when he was suddenly shown the door at West Ham.

"I was obviously disappointed, because I felt like five games was quite a short time, but these things happen in football. It is what it is, you have to deal with it," Potter said.

"You just try to take stock of what the next thing is, and what you want to do. And then, as often happens in life, opportunities come up. Because of my relationship with Sweden, with the country, this opportunity felt like something really, really interesting."

Just over two weeks after his dismissal, Sweden sacked Danish coach Jon Dahl Tomasson after a woeful World Cup qualifying run that saw them collect one point from four games, ultimately finishing bottom of the group.

PLAYOFF OPPORTUNITY

Potter came in to steer the team through the last two games, a defeat by Switzerland and a draw with Slovenia.

Yet the Swedes had a lifeline through a World Cup playoff spot earned via their Nations League C triumph.

Aware of his inexperience in international football, Potter immediately got to work, studying players and brushing up on his Swedish.

"You have to be really concise in terms of how you use your time," he explained.

"You can think of how you used to work in the club, with all the time you have and the amount of training you can do, or the meetings you can do, but you haven't got that (in international football).

"It's about how you simplify things to make it clear for the players, not over-complicate it, to try to help them show the best of themselves on the pitch."

His approach paid dividends, with Sweden beating Ukraine 3-1 in Valencia before the win at home over Poland, ensuring his topsy-turvy season and Sweden's shaky qualifying campaign would end with an unlikely trip to the World Cup, where Sweden will face Tunisia, Netherlands and Japan in Group F.

"That experience (against Poland) and that to be part of something that meant a lot to so many people was just something I'll be forever grateful for," he said.

Having cut his teeth at Swedish club Ostersund, before managing the likes of Brighton Hove Albion, Chelsea and West Ham in the Premier League, Potter understands the people and the football culture in Sweden.

He laughs at the notion of seeing himself as a prospective national team manager when he arrived in Sweden in 2011 to manage a then fourth-tier club, but he is seizing the opportunity with both hands.

"There's never been any master plan," he says.

"There's never been any thought of anything else. I'm just so happy to be here, and I will try and do my best for Sweden, for this job."

(Reporting by Philip O'Connor Editing by Toby Davis)