Graham Potter probably knew it was a matter of time before Swan Lake got a mention and he was asked if the ballet production that his Östersund players put on in Sweden would be rolled out in one form or another in south Wales now that he is working with an all-new cast.

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Putting together a team on the pitch, rather than singing and dancing on stage, is the Swansea manager’s priority right now as he gets to grips with rebuilding a club who have lost 13 players as well their Premier League status, but he gives a fascinating response to the question of whether some of his unconventional methods at Östersund could work here.

“I’ve been asked: ‘Can it transfer?’ The initial response is no, it can’t, because it’s a completely different environment,” says Potter, who in Sweden had players doing everything from taking lessons in reindeer husbandry to writing a book as part of the ‘culture academy’ that was the brainchild of Daniel Kindberg, Östersund’s chairman.

“But when I look back at the effect it had on the people, in terms of players and staff, and stripping down hierarchies in the group, and me – I don’t want to stand in front of my team and sing, because I can’t sing for a start. Or dance. Or pretty much do anything really. I can’t write, I can’t paint.

“But just how it allows your supporters and your community to see you in a different scenario is beneficial. And the more I’m here the more I think: ‘Yeah, it can transfer.’ But you just have to understand the environment that you are in and how you can do it. It’s not an easy process. You announce to a bunch of guys that on their day off they’re going to be doing dancing practice, they’re not going to say: ‘That’s fantastic.’ So there are managerial issues that you have to explain, always linking it with football.”

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Graham Potter moved to south Wales after eight years in Sweden. Photograph: Ashley Crowden/Guardian/Athena Pictures

The premise behind it all is to develop the depth of a person by taking players and staff out of their comfort zone for wider collective reward. “Sometimes there is a disconnect between footballers and supporters, because there are highly-paid people here and supporters over there, and nothing in between,” says Potter. “And then when you need the support, when things go bad, there is no reference for them to say: ‘OK, I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt.’

“Whether that’s a week or three weeks, sometimes you need that. And we had that at Östersund. We had an environment where our home record was fantastic and the support was brilliant. Imagine if you could get that at the Liberty – ‘We’re with you no matter what happens’. That’s ultimately what we’re trying to do, to create something where supporters say: ‘I can relate to you, I know you’re going to do some things that are wrong, but I’m still going to be with you.’”

Erudite, modest and gregarious, Potter comes across as such an interesting character. It also seems as though there are so many layers to a man who studied social sciences at university, has a masters degree in leadership and emotional intelligence, made 300 appearances across all four divisions as a player, and won three promotions and the Swedish Cup as a manager.

Play Video 4:24 The Comfort Zone: the unconventional methods of Östersund's Graham Potter – video

He certainly breaks with a few stereotypes. “I’d read a classics book on the bus when I was at York,” the 43-year-old says, recalling his playing days. “But I think that was just to wind Jon Parkin up – ‘What are you doing with your life?’”

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Potter could have been forgiven for asking himself the same when he took over at Östersund in 2010, yet it proved to be the making of him. For a while it seemed as though his work went unnoticed outside of Sweden – Potter acknowledges it was not until Östersund reached the last 32 of the Europa League last season that his profile really changed.

Yet he has no qualms about that or the fact that it took so long to receive a decent job offer here. “I was never waking up and thinking: ‘How do I get back to the UK? How do I get to the Premier League?’” he says.

But did he not deserve a chance earlier? “I think you always have to put yourself in a position where the risk for the person employing you is less,” Potter adds. “For example, I would not have got a Conference North job [in 2010]. I was at Leeds Carnegie, the ninth tier. And I was coaching students. There would have been hundreds of managers with more experience. So I had to go to the fourth tier of Swedish football, pretty much in the Arctic circle.”

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Graham Potter, then head coach of Oestersunds FK, celebrates after a victory during the Europa League last season. Photograph: Nils Petter Nilsson/Getty Images

Swansea seems like a good fit for Potter, but he has a big job on his hands and already sees parallels with problems he inherited at Östersund. “I think the level of challenge is higher here, but I think if you can theorise it – it’s the same really. Identity has been lost, there’s no sort of trust, confidence is low and responsibility has been passed because of decision-making at a different level.”

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On top of that, Swansea’s squad lacks depth and quality. “I think it’s 13 players that have already left and there is speculation that maybe more might leave,” Potter says. “[Leroy] Fer, [Sam] Clucas and [Wilfried] Bony aren’t available [through injury]. And we’ve signed three players for around £6m, so you don’t have to be a genius – there is obviously a restructure and a transitional period.”

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Potter radiates positivity and describes the slow arrival of new faces as “part of the challenge” rather than a source of frustration. At the same time, he clearly wants to add to Joel Asoro, Bersant Celina and Barrie McKay, all of whom are young and hungry and part of a new transfer strategy that Potter is driving with Kyle Macaulay, the head of recruitment who followed him from Östersund. “We’re really pleased with the ones we’ve got. And we need to do more,” he says.

There will be no quick fix for Swansea, who start their season at Sheffield United on Saturday, but that is all part of the appeal for Potter. “I’ve always been attracted to something that is about building and creating,” he says. “I’ve moved my family from an idyllic life in Sweden, so I didn’t come back just for a job. There had to be something where I thought: ‘If we can make this work, we can really do something special.’ And that’s what I want to do here.”