Graham Potter said he feels safe in his role as Chelsea manager despite a precarious run of form just before the World Cup in Qatar.
The Blues’ loss against Bournemouth tomorrow will tie their worst league run in 24 years, and they are eight points outside the top four.
While on vacation in California during the World Cup, Potter said he spoke with the club’s influential US-based director Behdad Egbhali and gained his full support.
He stated: “I met up with Behdad and had a good chat. There is fantastic support.”
“I’m even more confident, even more aware of the support I have now than I was three months ago when I took the job so that tells you something.”
“It’s a credit to them and their support and how they have communicated with me — it’s been fantastic. We all know the pressure and the demands.”
“But we have also got people who can see the perspective and say, ‘How can we improve?”.
“I’m really looking forward to the weeks and the months and the years ahead.”
Potter is Chelsea’s 12th full-time manager since 2004, and the club has a reputation for firing managers on the spur of the moment, notably under Roman Abramovich.
After Thomas Tuchel was fired, the new owner Todd Boehly offered him a five-year, £50 million contract in September.
Despite such a heavy contract, Potter has noted recently that he is aware that it will be difficult to play in the Champions League next year.
The new coach added: “It is going to be hard but the focus for us is on our performance, how we function and how we are playing.”
“If you don’t control that then you can talk all you want about the gap or what the others do, it doesn’t matter.”
Graham Potter
Graham Stephen Potter, a professional football manager and former player from England, was born on May 20, 1975. He is now Chelsea’s head coach in the Premier League.
Left-back Potter had a 13-year playing career and made 307 Football League matches.
He also played for Southampton in the Premier League and Shrewsbury Town in the Football Conference. At the under-21 level, he received one international cap for England.
With the Swedish team stersund, Potter launched his professional managerial career in January 2011.
With stersund, he earned three promotions and the Svenska Cupen, helping them advance to the 2017–18 UEFA Europa League knockout round.
In June 2018, he was named manager of Championship team Swansea City. A year later, he moved on to coach Premier League club Brighton & Hove Albion.
Thomas Tuchel was replaced as Chelsea’s head coach on September 8, 2022, and Potter was named his replacement.
Six days after making his debut, the group stage Champions League match at home between the squad and FC Red Bull Salzburg ended in a 1-1 draw.
Potter defeated Crystal Palace 2-1 away from home in his second game in command, coming from behind to win his first Chelsea game.
Conor Gallagher, a Chelsea graduate, and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang both scored their first goals for the team in the game.
Will Potter Succeed at Chelsea?
At the clubs he has managed, Graham Potter has shown himself to be a popular and effective manager.
When he lived in Sweden, he guided Ostersunds FK all the way to the top flight, and last season, he guided Brighton to their best-ever Premier League ninth-place result.
If given enough time and support, he is a manager who can make Chelsea a force to be reckoned with.
In that Potter is a manager who prefers to operate with a three at the back system with wing-backs bombing on forward, his style will not be drastically dissimilar from Tuchel’s.
Reece James, Ben Chilwell, and Marc Cucurella, all of whom are previous Brighton residents, might potentially flourish in the system.
In any scenario, his fundamental beliefs won’t change. Chelsea will play out from the back, defend as a unit, have a keen awareness of placement, and be a counterattacking machine under his direction.
Off the field, Potter will actively participate in future club transfers, ensuring that the players the club signs are compatible with his vision.
