Chelsea’s hierarchy are determined to drive a long-term cultural reboot under Graham Potter and they will stand by the new manager if he fails to qualify for the Champions League this season – as long as the overall direction of travel is positive.
Potter, who took over from Thomas Tuchel on Thursday, knows that the minimum requirement for the campaign to be considered a success would be a top-four Premier League finish, plus a decent run in the Champions League. Chelsea are sixth in the league after six matches – three points behind Potter’s previous club, Brighton, in fourth – and they lost their opening European game on Tuesday at Dinamo Zagreb, which proved to be Tuchel’s last game.
