Scholarly Potter gets a fresh cut for the new job but quickly learns change will take time 

New Chelsea manager listened to the Stamford Bridge crowd toast Thomas Tuchel's name before seeing his side let victory slip from their grasp 

Looking sharp: Chelsea manager Graham Potter gestures on the touchline during the UEFA Champions League Group E match at Stamford Bridge, London. Pic: John Walton/PA Wire.

Although it was all about - and always going to be about - Graham Potter's debut, the spectre of Thomas Tuchel floated around Stamford Bridge last night, not least midway through the first half of Chelsea's tepid 1-1 draw with RB Salzburg, when supporters stood and sang a tribute to their former manager, axed a week earlier.

“We've got super Tommy Tuchel,” they sang in the 21st minute, to mark the year the German led Chelsea to Champions League victory less than six months after replacing Frank Lampard.

There are still some fans who mourn the loss of Lampard, more for his record-breaking career as a player at Chelsea than for his modest season and a half as manager.

Tuchel lasted a little longer at 20 months, before the end came after Chelsea's Champions League defeat in Zagreb last Tuesday. Such a short reign is not unusual at Chelsea, with 20 or so changes of manager in the last quarter of a century.

Potter and his boss Todd Boehly are hoping to end, or at least slow down this managerial merry-go-round, and both have talked about a long-term plan to take the Blues back to the top of English and European football.

Potter wrote in his first set of programme notes as the club's new manager that he had been through a surreal first few days, a 'whirlwind – emotional, exciting and really quite an incredible experience.” He also acknowledged that he will have to prove himself quickly, especially to those fans still feeling the loss of Tuchel. It may be that their rendition of Tuchel's song was a final farewell from them to the German, the start of a new era.

Potter will certainly hope so. He turned up at Stamford Bridge for his first experience of the Champions League - as player, coach or spectator - sporting a new look, with a sharp suit instead of his usual tracksuit, and an equally sharp haircut.

He was not afraid to make cuts of his own, dropping defenders Kalidou Koulibaly and Wesley Fofana, two of the club's most expensive signings this summer.

The applause that greeted his arrival in the dugout pre-kickoff was warm rather than red hot, and he was soon up on his feet, arms folded in the technical area, observing play in a schoolmasterly way, as befits his background as the one time coach of the England Universities team.

Perhaps mindful of the modern footballer's sensitivities, Potter is cut from different cloth to previous occupants of the this particular dugout. Jose Mourinho famously wore his heart on his sleeve, Antonio Conte would never stop pacing, pointing and trying to micro-manage his players' movements, and Tuchel was another touchline jack-in-the-box, frequently stomping up and down like a petulant child or kneeling and raging at the heavens like a tracksuited Basil Fawlty.

By contrast, Potter made his points politely and calmly to his players, as befits one who would rather rule by consent than fear.

Boehly spoke last week about upgrading Stamford Bridge, which is showing its age after more than 30 years of underinvestment. Media facilities are poor by comparison with the state-of-the-art facilities across London at Arsenal, Tottenham and even Brentford, but one benefit of the cramped, bunker-like press box is that it is directly behind the dugouts, meaning journalists have a close-up view of the managers' antics.

And on nights like these, with the stadium unusually quiet apart from the regular singing of away fans, you can hear what the coaches are saying to their players. It was certainly possible to pick up Potter praising Cesar Azpilicueta for his overlapping movements, asking Kai Havertz to drift towards the touchline for a throw-in, and more.

One sign of frustration in a fruitless first-half came when Marc Cucurella passed sideways rather than ran forward, but his protests towards the player he sold to Chelsea barely a month ago were muted.

During a break in play, he communicated calmly with Mateo Kovacic and Jorginho about what he wanted from his central midfielders, and was soon looking frustrated again after the latter hit a wasteful long pass. He was straight down the tunnel on the half-time whistle., and whatever he said to his players during the break had an immediate impact as Raheem Sterling put Chelsea ahead within minutes of the restart.

Finally the home supporters found their voices, although they were silenced in the 75th minute when Noah Okafor equalised for Salzburg after a mistake by Thiago Silva, who dived in uncharacteristically. In recent months opposition goals have inevitably brought protests from the Chelsea bench, but the only voice of dissent towards the fourth official came from Ben Chilwell, who was warming up nearby.

Potter folded his arms calmly and sat down quietly in resignation. On the final whistle it was his counterpart Matthias Jessie who was fist-pumping and hugging his players, while Potter proffered a polite “well-done' with a gentle but firm handshake. No repeat of the Conte-Tuchel arm-wrestling of last month, here.

But this was an inauspicipous start for Potter, who has no magic wand and will not be banking on any kind of coaching wizardry. Methodical, meticulous and immaculately mannered, he is a refreshing change from some of the more manic managerial styles Stamford Bridge has seen in recent years. Change may come, but not overnight, as he noted in the programme.

“There is always an element of time involved if you want to improve, but at the same time we have to understand that our job is to be competitive, to win, and I've never been a coach that asks for time.” Only time will tell how much he will get.