Under-fire Chelsea boss Graham Potter 'not stupid' about his position: 'I know people want something different'

• Took charge of Blues in September 2022
• Won only nine games so far
• Questions asked of future in west London

WHAT HAPPENED? The 47-year-old was only handed the managerial reins at Stamford Bridge in September 2022, but is already facing uncomfortable questions regarding his future after collecting just nine wins from 25 games at the helm. With Chelsea having splashed out around £600 million ($723m) across the last two transfer windows, Potter is aware that he needs to start delivering on expectations if he is to remain in the most demanding of roles.

WHAT THEY SAID: Potter has said of his situation, which saw Chelsea booed from the field following a 1-0 Premier League defeat to rock-bottom Southampton last time out: “I am not stupid or naive. My job is to keep going and keep helping and supporting the team and take that criticism. You can only be yourself and try your best while being yourself. 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.”

THE BIGGER PICTURE: Potter went on to say of trying to guide Chelsea through a transitional period in which they have overhauled much of their playing squad with a flurry of expensive additions: “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. 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. I know my quality and I know what I have done in my career but I also understand than when results don’t go your way that you are open to criticism and that’s fair.”

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WHAT NEXT? Chelsea, who continue to sit 10th in the Premier League table and have a 1-0 deficit to make up in their Champions League last-16 encounter with Borussia Dortmund, will be back in action on Sunday when taking in a testing trip to old adversaries Tottenham.