A duo of appointments confirmed this week demonstrates the confidence Potts now has in an executive team that was considered flabby and ineffective when he joined in 2015.

Current group finance director Trevor Strain has been promoted to the position of chief operating officer and will be succeeded in February by Michael Gleeson, who is stepping up from his trading director role.

Both men are being rewarded for their part in delivering Morrisons’ turnaround, which has been built on a return to retail basics and a renewed focus on the customer.