IT HAS been a long 11 days and a very long month for Graham Potter.

The Albion boss expected a “torturous” time after his side lost to Bournemouth.

It turns out that break between fixtures has not seemed too bad on the training ground given the reaction of his players to the setback.

But it has still been a long lay-off.

Potter reports they have been working well ahead of tomorrow’s trip to West Ham.

The month as a whole? Well that means the transfer window and the Seagulls’ coach would happily see the buying and selling period cut in half.

Potter was the ultimate professional yesterday as he fielded questions about Gaetan Bong, Glenn Murray, Alexis Mac Allister and Tariq Lamptey in his press conference.

It was not disclosed until after he left the room - and only hours later became public knowledge - that the boss learnt of the death of his father not long before appearing before the media.

Little wonder he mentioned the word “perspective” at one point when talking about that night at the Vitality Stadium.

In terms of the transfer window, many fans have demanded reinforcements and Potter has repeated his own message – happy with his squad, open to the right additions. But it has felt like a long window.

As day 30 ticked by, he said: “I don’t think it needs to be so long and I am speaking as a coach. But it is what it is.

“It is a part of the football noise that generates interest and we have transfer watch shows and all that sort of stuff “It is just a window to try and move something, change something around.

“But the market is very difficult in January.

“Whether it needs to be the whole 31 days, I am not so sure.”

He joked: “From my own personal point of view, I’d have to answer questions about the transfer window less!

“A couple of days is fine for me!

“It’s a team. Supporters want their players to be a team.

“You want to know who is with you and who is not.

“But, when the transfer window is open, of course players then start to think about their own situation, which is normal.

“They are human beings. They have got careers and lives.

“Sometimes that can distract and affect so maybe just to shorten that opportunity might be better.

“Thankfully I am not responsible for making those decisions.”

Potter has his own decisions to make. Starting with how to end a winless run dating back to the end of December.

Albion are 19th in the Premier League form table covering the last six matches.

They were dumped there by the 3-1 reverse at Bournemouth, after which the boss looked ahead to a bleak period until the West Ham trip.

Asked whether the defeat had been shrugged off, he replied: “You don’t shrug things off but that’s the job.

“We can’t feel sorry for ourselves. We have to carry on working and prepare for the next match, which is what we have been doing.

“Players are disappointed when they don’t win because they want to win.

“We are all the same. Everybody feels better when you have had a few results.

“You expect a disappointed mood but then they train and they get on with the job and they work hard and they try their best and that is all you can do. That is the main thing.

“We need to try and push to get a little bit more from everybody.

“We need to not accept where we are, we need to try to get a little bit better.”

Potter referred at Bournemouth to how Southampton have rallied since their 9-0 humbling by Leicester.

Burnley are the latest to get going again with two wins to open a five-point gap immediately above Albion.

Asked whether such examples can inspire his own team, Potter said: “It’s the nature of the competition. There is nobody really bad in the league, so far as I can see. Everyone is capable.

“You can go into a game of football knowing you can lose any games.

“You should also know you can win any game.

“We have to find the right balance for us that enables us to do that.”

Rather than sitting at home glued to any transfer window coverage on TV, Potter took in West Ham’s match on Wednesday.

He said: “I was there. They are playing against Liverpool, who are not too bad.

“That’s tongue in cheek! They (Liverpool) are very good! It is not easy playing that team.

“I am sure against us there will be a different feeling in the game.”

A different feel for February would be most welcome for Albion.

It has been a long month.