Under-fire Chelsea boss Graham Potter has compared his situation at Stamford Bridge to that of Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp as his side’s wretched run continues.
The Blues are currently in the midst of a poor run of form having lost six out of their nine games in all competitions - a run that continued in midweek with their 4-0 Carabao Cup defeat at the hands of Man City. That humbling defeat at the Etihad Stadium saw pressure crank up with supporters chanting the name of former manager Thomas Tuchel.
Speaking about his current precarious circumstances, Potter has suggested he is not the first manager in the Premier League to have been under pressure during his debut season at clubs - his opposite numbers at Man City, Arsenal and even Liverpool having gone through the same.
Speaking at a press conference ahead of Chelsea ’s clash with Fulham on Thursday, he said: “You have to understand it's part of the job. You have to look at my colleagues in a similar position, Pep was criticised in his first season, Mikel [Arteta], Jurgen Klopp in his early seasons.
“Football is emotional and when you lose you don't think about it, you feel it: the pain, discomfort. Sometimes it's hard to understand the why and it's easier to blame somebody. I'm not saying I've been perfect but it's always very complex.
“You try to put it into perspective and remember I am capable. The results haven't been good enough for us and you have to respect and deal with that.”
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Chelsea now sit tenth in the Premier League standings after 17 games and already sit ten points behind fourth-placed Manchester United. Should they not improve then the Blues’ place in the Champions League could be under severe threat.
Potter has suggested that he is aware as to why he is facing such severe criticism and has vowed that Chelsea will improve once they get over the lengthy injury issues currently hampering their campaign.
The former Brighton man said: “You always feel pressure, the higher you go the more pressure, noise on the outside. At a club like Chelsea, when you don't get the results you want, there is noise and criticism. You have to keep trying to improve, stay strong and get through.
He added: “If you look at what we have at the moment, and where we're at with the players we've got out, it can skew the picture a little bit. If we have those guys back, the picture changes. I don't think we're as far away as it looks from the outside.
“You have to go window to window to improve the squad, develop the culture and football idea. As much as these periods are not nice, you have to use them as a way to get stronger. But at the time they're not pleasant.”
