Graham Potter believes his coaching challenge at Albion is only just taking off.

Which underlines the importance of securing safety over the next five rounds of fixtures.

The head coach signed a six-year deal earlier this season, which underlines the long-term nature of his, if one dare use the word, project at the club.

He has impressed those who see his work behind the scenes and a decent recent run has led to some praise for the transformation taking place on the pitches of the Premier League.

It has been clear since early in the season that so much about the club is going in the right direction.

That includes the young players coming through at various ages, led by one or two who will be contenders for first team spots next term after loan stints in challenging circumstances.

The obvious analogy is one of spinning plates but Potter has another way of summing up a role which combines thinking of the future and of the very short term.

He admitted: “We’re at the start of a process I would say. The first year can be quite tricky.

“You’ve got a foundation but you’re also trying to change, so you have to be careful with what you’re doing, especially in the Premier League.

“I think the saying, ‘Fixing the plane while it’s up in the air’ is a good one, because it’s the toughest league in the world.

“We’re trying to start a process off. That’s the challenge.

“We’ve done some things well. You make mistakes and try to improve. You try to get better.

“The idea has been there throughout but we need to get better at executing it.

“We need to finish the season, learn, and move forward.

“As coaches we all want more time and more resources but I’ve got to this point by getting the most out of the players I have.”

There could also be additions although how the transfer window works this summer remains to be seen with the timetable shifted and finances tightened.

But Potter reckons he can get more out of the men who are already at the club.

He added: “I think we can improve regardless of what we do in the transfer window. I’d like to think I can improve as well.

“The job of every club in each window is to see how you can help the team develop, and that’s what we’ll try to do.”

For now, fasten your seatbelts for the visit of the top two to Falmer.

Albion have opened a nine-point gap over the bottom three and are also looking relatively healthy in terms of goal difference.

That should set them up for a smooth landing come the end of the season.

Of course there has to be a chance they will still be on 36 points this time next week.

If so, their league situation would hinge partly on how other teams are faring.

The flipside, or dream scenario if you like, is that they score a landmark win over Liverpool and others continue to lose.

That would leave them 12 points (and several goals) clear with just 12 left on the table.

Potter will not be daydreaming about such things as he prepares to take on the champions.

Nor is close-season planning at the forefront of his mind right now.

He said: “I’ve been focusing on the games so all my thoughts and energy are on Liverpool and trying to get the points that we need.

“We have people who can plan things in terms of what we’re going to do pre-season and when we’re back and that type of stuff, but I’ve just been focusing on the games that we need to play.

“Just from a planning and logistics perspective, we’ll probably need to know how long we’ll have to recover from this season and then planning the pre-season time, but it’s only logistics really, it’s not that big a deal.

“We all understand why the situation is what it is.

“We just have to adapt and work with what we have to work with. It’s no problem.”