Kai Havertz has admitted that some players in Chelsea’s bloated 32-man squad were not unhappy to see Graham Potter sacked.
The 23-year-old, who is the club’s top scorer after playing the most minutes this season, was “sad” to lose his manager but admits others didn’t share his view.
It is understood that some players hoped Potter would be sacked to improve their chances of playing, while others simply saw it as the right time to try a new coach.
Speaking after a disappointing 0-0 draw with Liverpool left Chelsea in 11th place, Havertz admits that not the entire dressing room was behind their former manager.
He said: “Of course, there were mixed emotions for everyone. It is not that, I don’t know how many players that we have in the squad… that everyone is [either] frustrated or happy.
“There are mixed emotions from everyone. For me, it was of course sad news. We saw it in the media.
“Everyone took it by themselves through the media. That’s it. I liked Graham and I liked what he did, that’s it.”
Chelsea had co-owner Behdad Egbhali and co-sporting directors Paul Winstanley and Laurence Stewart sat in the stands on Tuesday night.
The trio are three of the four decision makers over the club’s next manager, and will have watched on with concern as Chelsea wasted chances as their Premier League season continues to fade away.
Bruno Saltor admitted that it took Potter to convince him to stay on and the interim has looked reluctant to be in charge of the side.
He said: “It’s truly difficult to enjoy [leading the team]. It's been really [a] difficult [period], sad and disappointing.”
Despite a good performance, there has to be concern about his ongoing leadership for the away trips at Wolves and then Real Madrid in the Champions League.
Havertz did, however, speak positively of a coach who has stepped up out of a sense of duty, adding: “We all have big respect for him for what he stands for. He does his job very professionally.
“It is not easy for them as well because the manager is gone and they stay here. So we all respect him. He knows how the business is. We are all in the same boat and have to work together with him.”
The only real positive for Chelsea ahead of a Champions League quarter-final that could save their season was the return of N’Golo Kante. The French midfielder started for the first time in over seven months and excelled over his 69 minutes on the pitch.
Havertz stated: “He is one of the best midfielders to play the game. We’re happy to have him back and we saw his qualities today. Hopefully, he is going to be fit for the next couple of weeks.”
