Graham Potter believes he has the full backing of the Chelsea hierarchy despite the club’s dismal form.
And Chelsea owner Todd Boehly is determined to carry on showing his support in the January transfer window. Potter is under increasing pressure at Stamford Bridge after managing just one win in his last eight Premier League games, while the Blues crashed out of the FA Cup at Manchester City.
That led to fans chanting for Thomas Tuchel, who was Potter’s predecessor as Chelsea boss and clearly remains popular with the supporters. Chelsea appointed Potter as part of a long-term vision to try and rebuild the squad and the club, making it clear his future did not depend on them finishing in the top four this season.
But even Boehly could not have expected such a poor run to leave them in mid-table and facing another tough game with a trip to Fulham on Thursday night. However, it seems clear that they are committed to Potter and rebuilding the squad as they have spent big in January - and want to strengthen further.
It comes at a time when Chelsea have suffered major injury problems - Raheem Sterling is still awaiting the results of a scan on a hamstring issue - and the squad has been exposed.
But they are still in the market on Benfica’s Enzo Fernandez while they are tracking Shakhtar Donetsk’s Mykhaylo Mudryk, even if Arsenal remain firm favourites and the place he wants to go. But there was also an admission from Chelsea’s players that the performance at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday was not good enough.
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Chelsea defender Trevor Chalobah said: “As a team, collectively, we didn't put enough pressure on [City]. They had a lot of time on the ball, a lot of space. Conceding three goals against any team isn’t good, and that was game done really. It was difficult.
“Games are coming thick and fast. We have an important game on Thursday. We have to pick ourselves up and go again. We have to stick together, everyone in the dressing room, and keep positive.
“It's a tough moment. It's only ourselves we can look at. We have injuries but we have to use the players we have and get through. We don't want to complain. We have to work on what went wrong and look forward.”
