Graham Potter admits feeling pressure at Chelsea

Graham Potter has admitted he understands fan frustrations over Chelsea’s run of poor results.

The Blues lost two games last week alone, beaten 1-0 by Borussia Dortmund in the first leg of a Champions League last 16 tie on Wednesday, before then suffering a shock defeat to bottom of the league Southampton at Stamford Bridge on Saturday.

Those losses see Chelsea on the brink of Champions League elimination and dropping to 11 points adrift of the Premier League top four.

Results have understandably seen manager Potter come underfire, and speaking to the press this week he admitted that he understands why.

“I am not stupid or naive,” he said. “My job is to keep going and keep helping and supporting the team and take that criticism. I get it that when you are losing that there’s always something you should do or change. I have always been this way and it has gotten me to this point but, at the same time, I know people want something different.”

Potter also took the time to discuss some reasons for Chelsea’s poor form, citing the need for young players signed during the previous two windows need time to adapt to the Premier League, as as well citing injuries as being an issue too.

“There is transition and there’s factors but, at the same time, when the team is losing and we’ve had the results we’ve had then you can also understand it,” Potter continued.

“We’ve invested in some young players, if you look at Enzo [Fernandez], [Noni] Madueke and [Mykhailo] Mudryk, they haven’t played that many games. They are learning to play in the Premier League.

“We’re managing quite an unprecedented injury list – so you have to manage that in the Premier League. All that is true but, unfortunately when you lose, it is not what people want to hear.”