I think the way it works is that the council must have known and then fixed the pothole within a 'reasonable' timeframe. If the pothole wasn't reported to them / spotted by their roads inspector

then they can't do anything about it. If its weather induced (Aberdeen roads were pretty bad before but now the ice has gone they are like the surface of the moon) then your council will not have been outside the timeframe to fix them.
In short I don't think you have a legitamite claim at this time.
