Graham Potter insists he feels more support from Chelsea’s owners now than when he took the helm in September.
The Blues manager met with co-owner Behdad Eghbali while on holiday in California during the World Cup break.
Potter and his wife toured from Los Angeles to San Francisco in a restorative road trip for the Stamford Bridge boss.
A meeting with Eghbali on that trip left Potter more buoyant than ever, despite four defeats in five games in all competitions before the mid-season hiatus.
“When I was over in California I met with Behdad, so that was good, we had a good chat with him and there’s fantastic support,” said Potter. “So I’m really looking forward to the weeks, months and years ahead.
“We understand where we’re at at the moment, we understand the challenges we have, but that’s where we are on the journey at the moment. I’m even more confident now, even more aware of the support I have now than I was three months ago when I took the job.
“So that tells you something, and I think it’s a credit to them, their support, how they’ve communicated with me, it’s been fantastic, and you know the pressure, the demands of this football club of course.
“But we also know there are enough people that can put into perspective, enough people that can see the situation, can see where we’re at, to be able to say, okay this is where we are, and how can we improve on that and go forward.”
Chelsea will restart their league campaign by hosting Bournemouth on December 27, with Potter acutely aware of the need to start building form.
“I’d like to have gone up and down California with a couple of wins, but it wasn’t to be,” said Potter. “So you have to reflect, and you have to take the pain, and you have to get the frustration and work out how can we go forward and make this situation better.
“So that’s what I’ve spent a bit of my time doing, and we’ve had a really good positive two, three weeks with the players.
“It feels like there’s a really good spirit, a really good connection around the building. So everything’s gone well in that regard, but clearly the proof is in the pudding and we understand we have to perform well and we have to try to win the game.”
