Chelsea boss Graham Potter has denied the suggestion that a lack of European football could help his side improve their results next season. It comes as the Blues struggle for form under their new manager, with pressure mounting on him and the rest of his staff to turn results around.
The side currently sit tenth in the Premier League, despite spending over £500million in the past year on transfer fees since the new ownership of Boehly-Clearlake. Potter has claimed he has met with the owners and still holds their faith at this time, though pressure continues to mount.
"There is support and, of course, I've spoken to them," the former Brighton man told reporters ahead of a huge clash with Leeds. "But I'm not going to hide behind that. The results haven't been good enough for us and I'm responsible for that.
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"When you're a coach, if the results are good you accept the criticism and noise that comes with it. My job is to stay with the team, stay focused, try to prepare the team as well as I can, and win the game tomorrow."
While results have been poor, there is still enough time for the Blues to make their way into some form of European competition next season, with the Champions League, Europa League and Europa Conference League all still on the table. While that will be the aim, there has been some suggestion that a lack of continental football could help the side improve, much like Arsenal last season or Leicester's lack of Europe in the season they won the league.
For Potter though, that isn't the case, with the manager believing his side have to make a push towards the end of the season: "You can’t think at any point that it’s a positive to not be in Europe.
"That’s clear. We are a club with ambition and a desire to compete at the top. At the moment, we are not and we have to address that. That starts with tomorrow's match."
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