Chelsea plan to stand by Graham Potter even if they lose to Leeds and Dortmund
Chelsea are determined to give Graham Potter time to around the club’s fortunes and do not want to make a decision on his future based on the next two games, at home to Leeds and Borussia Dortmund.
Potter is under extreme pressure after Sunday’s defeat at Tottenham and has admitted results have not been good enough. Chelsea are 10th in Premier League despite spending more than £500m since the end of last season and there have been suggestions the head coach could be at risk of the sack if he loses against Leeds in the Premier League on Saturday and crashes out of the Champions League three days later against Dortmund, who lead 1-0 from the first leg.
Chelsea’s owners, Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital, want to give time to Potter, whom they appointed as Thomas Tuchel’s replacement in September. They are aware of the flux and bloated squad created by adding six first-team signings in January and their ambition from early in this poor sequence of results has been to give Potter next summer to benefit from a pre-season, a recalibration of the squad and the addition of the forward Christopher Nkunku from RB Leipzig.
The owners like the calm way Potter is going about his business and have built a structure around him, including by hiring two recruitment specialists who worked with him at Brighton in his previous job.
A large proportion of Chelsea fans have run out of patience with Potter after one win in 11 matches. Scoring goals has been a particular problem, with the one registered in past six matches coming in the draw at West Ham.
The owners could be under pressure to act if the team do not beat struggling Leeds and progress past Dortmund and the reaction towards Potter inside Stamford Bridge is poisonous. Potter said on Friday that he had received emails wishing him and his children dead.