Albion head coach Graham Potter has admitted his shock at landing a contract extension until 2025 after just six months in the job.

Potter joined the club in May, initially on a four-year deal, and has made an impressive start to life at the Amex with Albion 12th in the Premier League with 15 points after 13 matches.

His style of football has also been a hit with the Albion faithful and the club chairman Tony Bloom have acted quickly to tie him up as well as his backroom team.

Potter, along with assistant Billy Reid, first team coach Bjorn Hamberg and assistant head of recruitment Kyle Macaulay, have all also agreed contract extensions until 2025.

And Potter has admitted the move to offer a longer deal so soon into his tenure was a surprise.

Potter, 44, said: “It was a shock and it is not necessarily something you expect.

“It came out of the blue but Tony spoke to us and said they were happy with what we have been doing and wanted to cement things further.

“From our perspective, of course, we are delighted to be here in the first place.

“We’re excited with the challenge ahead and we understand that we haven’t done anything significant as yet.

“We want to carry on working, and we are at the start of what we want to do, but at the same time it is nice to have the support of the club, the support of the guys we have been working with and we are looking forward to cracking on.”

Chairman Bloom said: “We’ve been really pleased with the start Graham has made as head coach since joining us in the summer, and I’m delighted he and his staff have committed to these new long-term contracts.

“Together with his backroom team, he has continued the club’s progress of recent years and brought a different approach with a new style of play, which has been embraced by players and supporters alike.

“In the summer we unveiled a new long-term vision for us to become an established top-ten Premier League club, and we feel even more strongly that Graham as a bright, energetic and innovative head coach, is the right man to lead us there.”

Potter added: “I’ve had a tremendous welcome from everyone connected to the club staff, players and fans and have found it very easy to settle.

“The infrastructure, support and everything associated with the club is first class, and I’m pleased with what we have been able to do already, but there is still a way for us to go.

“I’m thrilled that the club have liked what they’ve seen so far, in a relatively short period of time, and have already shown an added confidence in what we are trying to do. 

“I hope that this is just the start of what will be another successful period in our history, and I’m extremely grateful that the club have made this long-term commitment.”

Potter admitted he was also humbled by the faith put in him and his team who made the move with him from Swansea City to the South Coast this summer.

He said: “We are very humbled. We have been doing our best to get on with our work how to win matches in the Premier League and not much else.

“The players we have worked with have been great in terms of their open-mindedness and how they have taken to the different approach. 

“They have stayed open-minded and respectful of that and we have really enjoyed it.”

Potter admits he has not looking too far ahead despite the length of the new deal. 

He told BBC’s Albion Unlimited: “As soon as you start thinking too far ahead in this job, you could be in trouble.

“We’ve always just focused on the next day, the next game and trying to improve. 

“It sounds simple but it is the only way to keep focused regardless of what the contract length is.

“We all know what the industry is and that you always need to keep improving and keep getting results because things can change quickly.

“We always have that mentality but also work hard every day to try to improve the football club.

“We had seven years in Sweden at Östersunds and the longer you are somewhere the more you understand somebody, the more they understand you and the deeper the relationships are the more you can work.

“But in football we know that time is not something you can demand, you have to earn it and we still have to carry on doing that.”