Graham Potter will NOT be putting extra heat on referees.

Even if things get very tight and tense in the closing weeks of the season.

The Albion head coach has vowed not to be in the ear of officials trying to sway decisions.

Potter and Chris Wilder, who will be his opposite number at Sheffield United tomorrow, have both been praised for their attitude towards referees.

The plaudits came from top ref Mike Dean when he was a guest on the popular That Peter Crouch Podcast this week.

Asked which Premier League bosses show officials most respect, Dean replied: “This season I would say Chris Wilder.

“He comes across nice, as a nice guy, Potter at Brighton is the same. Eddie Howe is the same.

“They just come across well in the media, they speak well.”

Potter said he has taken a decision to give refs space in which to work.

He told The Argus: “It is something I have consciously made a decision about when I came into this job.

“I did it in Sweden. It was the same, I was respectful to the referees there.

“I think they have got a really difficult job and it is my job to not necessarily make it more difficult.

“I have chosen always to let them get on with it and whatever they decide, they decide.

“My job is to look after the players and to look after my team and make sure what they are doing as well as they can.

“But I know that is not always the way.

“Some people think it is the job of the coach to make the referee’s job more difficult, to put more pressure on him, to maybe get the decision your way.

“I just don’t see it in that way.”

Only high-flying Liverpool and Leicester have had fewer yellow cards than Albion, who have received 38.

That might be a reflection of their boss’s attitude towards authority.

Or maybe not. At the same time, the two other teams whose managers were mentioned by Dean – Sheffield United and Bournemouth - have each had 51 yellows, a tally surpassed by only three other sides.

Wilder and Potter go head to head again tomorrow at a venue where the latter enjoyed a 2-1 win last term.

That was on the opening day of the season as Swansea got off to a flyer under their new boss.

There has been a rather shorter break leading into the fixture this time.

But Potter reckons the two weeks since his side drew 1-1 with Watford have been put to good use.

He said: “We had a good week. Some training time, some time away from this environment.

“A bit of sunshine and the guys have come back after a couple of days with their families and have trained well this week so it has been good.”

Albion have yet to win in 2020 so Potter is prepared for the questions which will come his way until that changes.

He said: “Every week is going to be the same massive match and, while we haven’t got the win, we will need a win.

“We know we are in that fight to stay in the Premier League, which there is a lot of teams involved in. We just need to make sure we are ready for that.

“We are looking forward to playing a team who have had a fantastic season.”

Potter is confident his squad have what it will take to stay up.

He added: “I think you need hard work, you need resilience, you need quality, you need luck, you need togetherness.

“We know we are in a battle but, at the start of the season, there are ten or 14 teams who battling to say in the competition.

“We need to stick together, we need to keep working and we need to win the next match.

“I have always been happy with the group in term of how it is together and how they work with me.

“We are just disappointed with the points tally we have got and we need to improve on that.”