Graham Potter has delighted supporters by showing another side to his personality during an event for Chelsea fans.
Potter took over from Thomas Tuchel as Chelsea manager in September but is yet to really stamp his authority on the role. The former Brighton boss has been tasked with putting a team together out of the vast number of players Todd Boehly’s ownership group have signed in the past two transfer windows.
That has not proven to be easy, with a run of two wins in 16 matches from November to February testing the patience of fans. But three straight wins appears to have changed the mood around the fanbase and Potter was in a buoyant mood when appearing on stage at a Club Chelsea event on Thursday evening.
At the end of the night, he was asked for his message to the fans. He replied : “Firstly, thank you because they’ve been incredibly fair with us, they’ve stuck with the team, the support we’ve had has been amazing.
“And we’ll need them in Saturday – we’ll try and beat Everton and then we’ll take the draw, and then we’ll try and win the f****** Champions League!”
The clip has gone down very well among Chelsea fans on social media. “He actually has a bit of personality, go on GAFFA!” one wrote. “Fair enough I rate it,” added another.
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“The Potter we have all been yearning for. Now that’s our manager,” said one fan. Another simply wrote: “I’m starting to like Potter.”
Chelsea will find out their opponents in the quarter-finals of the Champions League on Friday morning, with the draw taking place in Switzerland at 11am. The Blues and Manchester City are the only two English teams left in the competition after Tottenham and Liverpool were dumped out in the last 16.
Potter’s side got past Borussia Dortmund in the last round 2-1 on aggregate after turning around the one-goal deficit from the first leg in Germany. Goals from Raheem Sterling and Kai Havertz were crucial for Potter, who then backed up the win with another in the Premier League over Leicester.
The Blues beat Leicester 3-1 at the King Power Stadium on the weekend in a result which showed the progress being made under Potter. In his post-match press conference he sounded a positive note, with Everton next up this weekend.
"It's been a team performance over the week. It takes time to develop that, but the spirit is growing,” he said. “The togetherness I really like, fighting to play, ready to play. Marc Cucurella has been out of the squad for a while but has now put in two great performances. It epitomises what we need in the squad.
“I'm delighted for the players because it's been a tough period we've been through and now we can look forward to the weekend to try and finish off before the international break with three points."
