Graham Potter believes Albion fans appreciated their team’s efforts against Watford.

The Seagulls’ head coach reckons supporters went home knowing their team gave everything in search of a win.

But he accepts there will have been frustration at the dropping of points.

Potter spoke of a “difficult environment” around the Amex after Albion went behind.

Reaction from the stands of late has become a talking point – and remained so on Saturday.

I heard a suggestion that the crowd were poor and not supportive.

At the same time, commentators on TalkSPORT praised the atmosphere as Albion got on top in the second half.

My own impression was of a home support who were nervous after going 1-0 down but who really started to get behind their side in the second period.

Yes, there will be moans at a bad pass or cross or maybe a pass which went backwards when there was a more positive option visible from the vantage point afforded by the stands.

But it felt like one of those occasions when the crowd responded to what was happening in front of them.

Potter said: “I can’t control what the crowd do.

“Everyone wants to win and everyone feels disappointment when the scoreline goes against you.

“It is up to the players then to give the crowd something to get excited about.

“I think you could see they were giving everything on the pitch.

“Lads have fallen to their knees at the end of the game, they have tried to win.

“I think if you are a Brighton and Hove Albion supporter, you go home a little frustrated you haven’t won but you can see the team is trying its best.

“We are trying to play in a positive way.

“I thought we used Glenn (Murray) quite well – we could have used him better at times.

“That is just part of the process as well.

“We more than deserved a point and the performance in terms of the spirit and the quality will stand us in good stead going forward.”

Albion’s willingness to mix things up in pursuit of the win was a positive which fans seemed to appreciate.

Potter said: “We ended up with a couple of strikers on, Solly March at left-back, Steven Alzate right-back, Alireza (Jahanbakhsh) wide, Aaron Mooy as a ten, Leo Trossard as a ten, so we tried.

“We tried everything and, in the end, it is nice to get something from the game.”

Potter’s tactical changes at West Ham a week earlier were criticised as they were made but proved to be spot on.

The substitutions made this time looked more obvious, certainly in terms of who went on.

Left-back Dan Burn was not the obvious man to make way for striker Neal Maupay.

But Potter has facilitators in, most obviously, Solly March and Steven Alzate, who can switch positions and make seemingly unlikely tactical tweaks more feasible. March went from right wing to left-back on this occasion.

If the changes are being proved correct, is Potter getting it right with his initial selections?

The XI listed raised eyebrows and looked like a repeat of the set-up which won 3-0 at Vicarage Road, with a back three and March at left-wingback.

Not so. It was a back four and a formation which was interpreted by some as 4-4-1-1, by others as 4-2-3-1.

Potter said: “The good thing is we have options from the bench and options to start.

“The challenge is to find the right ones to start.

“In an ideal world, you want to go ahead in the game and you want to not have to then find a solution off the bench.

“But it is what is, that is my job and I try to do it the best I can.

“You need players who are adaptable and open-minded and want to help the team and are prepared to sacrifice themselves and suffer.

“I think we have that.”