Chelsea legend Pat Nevin has insisted the Blues are playing "as good football as he has seen for a while" despite winning just two of their last 15 games under boss Graham Potter.
The former Brighton manager is under increasing pressure to turn the tide on his Stamford Bridge reign or risk losing his place in the hot seat altogether. Potter's tenure plummeted to a new low on Saturday afternoon when Chelsea were beaten 1-0 at home by bottom-placed outfit Southampton at home.
It is clear that the Blues boss is still desperately searching for his best starting eleven five months after his appointment, with Potter making an astonishing 73 changes to the starting line-up since his arrival. For context, that is 23 more than the side with the second-most changes in Liverpool.
Despite this, Nevin feels there are plenty of positives to take from the situation Chelsea currently find themselves in and even claimed there isn't much that Potter should change at the moment.
Writing in the Daily Mail, the Blues great explained: "Chelsea are not a dull defensive team. They’re playing inventive football, as good as I’ve seen them play for a while. For 35 minutes against Borussia Dortmund, they were really, really special. And if they're not giving much away, they don’t need to change a huge amount. It feels really close."
Nevin went on to compare Potter's current plight to that of Mikel Arteta or Pep Guardiola when both took over Arsenal and Manchester City respectively.
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Both were granted time by those above them and have since enjoyed successful turnarounds, which has inspired Nevin to call for similar patience from Chelsea owner Todd Boehly.
If one thing feels certain it is that previous owner Roman Abramovich would have already called time on Potter's reign, something Nevin addressed while revealing his own preference when it comes to the current manager's future.
"We don’t know what the new owners are thinking. The previous Chelsea owner, Roman Abramovich, would have got rid of the manager. He just wouldn’t have stuck by him if he found himself in 10th and on this run.
"If the current management team pull the trigger quickly, it’s back to normality with a different manager every year — and a lot of Chelsea fans can probably cope with that. A lot of them want it. I just hope it isn’t the case."
It looks like Nevin will get his way, amid reports that Boehly currently has no intention of parting ways with Potter - who still has four-and-a-half years left to run on his Chelsea contract.
The Blues were jeered by their own fans following Saturday's defeat and Potter admitted he could understand the home faithful's frustrations.
He said: "After a 1-0 defeat at home, any criticism you get is understandable. We've had a tough period and are integrating young players into the Premier League. When results don't go your way it's tough.
"I'm not arrogant enough to say that their opinion isn't worth articulating. My job is to help the team and work through a team period."
