Underfire Chelsea manager Graham Potter has revealed he and his family have been subject to death threats following the Londoners' run of just two wins in 14 Premier League games.
The Chelsea boss, who replaced the much-loved Thomas Tuchel in September, revealed he and his three kids have been targetted in the wake of last weekend's 1-0 loss to relegation-threatened Southampton, which saw pockets of supporters stay behind after the full-time whistle at Stamford Bridge to boo and call for Potter be cleared of his duties.
Speaking at his press conference at Cobham on Friday, the 47-year-old lifted the lid on the impact such negative results have had on his personal life away from his duties in West London.
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“If you go to work and somebody’s swearing abuse at you, it’s not going to be pleasant. You can answer it two ways. I could say I don’t care, but you know I’m lying," said Potter. "Everyone cares what people think, because we’re hardwired to be socially connected.
“I want to succeed here. There’s nonsense (being said) that I don’t care. Where does that come from? Where’s your evidence on that? Ask my family. People have a perception I don’t care - what’s that based on? How do you know?
“You could ask my family how life has been for me and for them. It’s been not pleasant at all. I understand supporters go home and they’re annoyed because the team aren’t winning. But I assure you, my life for the last three or four months has been fairly average."
Potter added: “I’ve had some not particularly nice emails come through, that want me to die and want my kids to die. That’s obviously not pleasant to receive. If you’ve been asked for four months if you’re under pressure, because (the media) need to sell stuff - what do you expect, in the end?
“You know there’s a problem when the email address it’s been sent from is ‘Potter b****** at Gmail dot com’.”
The former Brighton and Hove Albion manager was speaking ahead of Sunday's visit to face an Antionio Conte-less Tottenham Hotspur in north London, with Chelsea sitting tenth in the Premier League table and in real danger of not qualifying for any of UEFA's European competitions next season.
But despite the abhorrent threats towards his family in recent days, Potter is refusing to feel sorry for himself as he bids to turn the results in Chelsea's favour in the coming weeks and months.
“Life is tough for lots of people,” he added. “No one really wants to care about Premier League managers. Sometimes life isn’t fair. It’s not like I’m complaining about it. You ask me is it hard, I say yes it is hard. You suffer. You get upset. When you’re in private, you show real emotion with your family.
“There’s a point to be considered, but the world is tough. We’re going through an energy crisis, a cost of living crisis. People are striking every other week. No one wants to hear about the poor old Premier League manager.
“My job is to act how I think I should act in the best way for Chelsea, act with integrity that is right for me. I don’t want to be anybody else. I don’t want to be fake. I’ll be me, and I’ll do my best. If my best isn’t good enough, I accept that.”
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