Graham Potter: Frustrated Aaron Connolly needs to stop being so self-critical

Brighton and Hove Albion's Aaron Connolly. Picture: Mike Hewitt/PA

Graham Potter has warned Aaron Connolly he must avoid being so self-critical of his performances and not let his thoughts spiral further into negativity.

The Brighton boss admitted the 21-year-old forward is frustrated with his progress since breaking into the Premier League side’s first-team squad last season.

Despite his form also earning him a call-up to the Republic of Ireland senior side, Potter has revealed Connolly’s struggle with injury and inconsistency.

But the Seagulls head coach has been at pains to point out the positives of the Galway native’s displays and urged him to stop being so hard on himself.

“I think he’s very self-critical. Sometimes a bit too much. I think he’s frustrated with where he’s at at the moment because he’s had one or two issues off the field, a few injuries, his form maybe isn’t where he would like it to be and so you can tend to focus on the negatives, and certainly, in this world where it is often very negative you can spiral into a place that isn’t necessarily that good for you,” Potter said.

“So it’s important to balance it off for him and whilst it’s important to recognise the things he can improve, it’s also [important] to acknowledge the things he is doing well, and how young he is and how difficult it is for an attacking player to succeed regularly in the Premier League.

“It doesn’t happen very often, he’s in his early 20s and he’s at the start of his career in the most competitive league in the world.” 

Connolly has endured an injury-blighted campaign this term, a combination of groin, hamstring, and rib problems reducing his appearance total to 15 games, scoring twice.

While that is still a reasonable tally for a forward who only turned 21 in January, Potter explained why Connolly has struggled after an impressive debut season in 2019/20.

“That’s the challenge when you are developing young players. They are used to succeeding, they have got to this level because they succeed all the time, and then they come to the Premier League and it’s not quite as easy as it was. How they manage that and how they deal with that is where the work is.

“But he’s a good kid, he’s a good lad, he wants to improve, he wants to do better, and we’ve got to just try and help him.” Connolly is in line to feature for Brighton against Manchester United at Old Trafford this evening despite returning from international duty prematurely after suffering a foot injury.

The forward limped off during Ireland’s 3-2 defat to Serbia in their opening World Cup qualifier having previously been denied what looked like a clear penalty.

He was ruled out of the shock 1-0 loss to Luxembourg a few days later and a scan on the foot revealed he did not suffer a break or a fracture.

It was a rare bit of good fortune for the player, with Potter adding that both club and country will have to accept his inconsistencies as he continues to learn the game at the top level.

“Of course, there is a reason why it’s not so easy to break into the highest level as a young player because you haven’t quite got that consistency of action on and off the pitch, maybe.

“You’ve not quite developed everything that you need to do to compete at the highest level. Most 21-year-olds are not at the maximum of their professional careers, most 21-year-olds are doing other stuff and enjoying themselves.

“You’ve got to remember that these guys are young people that are still learning about life. As a Premier League team, I can only speak for us, we have to understand that he is developing, that he is going to make mistakes, he’s not quite at his maximum and we have to help him through that.”