Chelsea boss Graham Potter was mobbed by fans in the aftermath of the Blues’ defeat at the hands of Fulham with many expressing their thoughts on the former Brighton schemer.
Potter finds himself under severe pressure at Stamford Bridge having failed to inspire an improvement at the club since being appointed as Thomas Tuchel’s successor. The defeat at Craven Cottage was Chelsea ’s seventh in their last ten games in all competitions.
That run of form leaves the West Londoners sitting tenth in the Premier League standings with 18 matches having been played and they now look highly unlikely to earn a Champions League place next term. Whilst the Chelsea hierarchy have not commented publicly on Potter’s position, there is no doubt pressure on the former Brighton man to turn things around.
During last week’s defeat to Manchester City in the FA Cup, supporters chanted the name of former boss Tuchel but they appear to have a different attitude now. In footage shared to Twitter after the defeat at Craven Cottage, Potter was seen getting mobbed by Blues fans, the vast majority of them sending him messages of support.
One fan claimed that he was the “best manager in the world” before going on to say: “We’ve got your back Potter, we trust you.”
Meanwhile, another said that they still believed in his abilities and claimed that he still had what it takes to win Chelsea their third Champions League crown. The messages of support continued to come for Potter as one final fan laid blame at the Blues’ underperforming stars instead of the manager.
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They said: “Keep the faith. Change the squad, they’re the problem.” Potter then climbed into the back of a car as he left Craven Cottage.
Away from the loss, Chelsea’s evening quickly turned into a nightmare as their injury worries were added to with the withdrawal of Denis Zakaria, whilst debutant Joao Felix was given a red card on his first appearance for the club. The on-loan Atletico Madrid star was handed his marching orders for a high challenge on Kenny Tete.
Speaking after the final whistle, Potter said: "It's really frustrating, incredibly challenging. I feel for the supporters.
"We're disappointed to lose tonight. I felt it was a relatively even game in the first half, we had a couple of chances. But I think the basics we can do a little bit better, in terms of our defending and football actions.
"We get back in the game and the red card is where we're at at the moment, in terms of things that can happen to us [do happen to us].”
Chelsea have another chance to get back on track this weekend as they host Crystal Palace at Stamford Bridge on Sunday afternoon before facing Liverpool in just over a week’s time in what already looks a key game to their hopes of European football next term.
