Graham Potter has offered few excuses for Chelsea's faltering form either side of the World Cup. For many, he had not shown enough frustration and too easily accepted that his side were second best, though the former Brighton boss suggests his demeanour is a matter of respect in press conferences.
Regardless, Chelsea's run of two wins and six defeats in nine games is not flattering to anyone. The Blues sit in 10th and have taken just three points off teams above them in the Premier League, with matches against Liverpool and Fulham to come pretty swiftly.
There is little to suggest at the moment that Potter is under pressure from those above him, though undoubtedly they would prefer not to hear the adoration of the former regime too frequently from a vocal support given the funds that have been invested since the summer.
READ MORE: Star signing eyes Chelsea chance as Todd Boehly left to consider change of plan for Thiago Silva
However, there is little doubt that Chelsea are struggling in terms of both results and performances. Playing Manchester City in consecutive matches would always provide a difficult opposition, but Chelsea were overwhelmed in the FA Cup, and a struggle to match relegation-contenders Nottingham Forest is still fresh in the memory.
How much time will Chelsea's head coach require to leave his imprint on the team? That remains to be seen following the disruption of a World Cup, though the 47-year-old has been reluctant to start those he spent most time with during that time such as Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Trevoh Chalobah.
Potter offered some explanation for the current situation in his press conference following FA Cup defeat to Manchester City. He said: "Well, the results in terms of the Premier League, I think we’ve lost four matches. Newcastle away before the World Cup when we had nine players out, we lost 1-0 to Arsenal, we lost on a bad day at Brighton, and I think we lost to Man City. Those are the teams we’ve lost to and we’ve drawn against Manchester United and Brentford, so the results in a small space of time aren’t positive.
"Like I’ve said, you can make excuses and look for reasons or you can say it’s not good enough. Both of those answers are correct so we have to keep improving and stick together because clearly we’re suffering as a football club and it’s not nice at all. That’s where we’re at at the moment."
Excuses offer little in the way of points but Potter may feel they have some merit at this stage. The former Brighton boss started his tenure with a nine-match unbeaten run. Perhaps crucially, his opening fixture at home to Red Bull Salzburg saw just Edouard Mendy and N'Golo Kante on the sidelines. Against City, Chelsea were without another eight players who would contend for a place in the starting XI.
Many have criticised Potter's tendency to rotate but it didn't take long for that to be forced upon the Chelsea coach. Each week provided a new injury as Wesley Fofana was hit by injury against AC Milan, Reece James was likewise in the reverse fixture, Conor Gallagher against Brentford before Ben Chilwell joined the list in a later midweek clash against Dinamo Zagreb. Only Gallagher has appeared more than once since picking up their initial injury.
Indeed, early outings saw improvement from Chelsea. They looked more dangerous going forwards, put AC Milan to the sword twice and the trajectory looked like it was moving in the right direction. However, almost in correlation with James' injury against AC Milan, things started to turn.
Chelsea struggled through draws with Brentford and Manchester United before Brighton brought Potter his first defeat in the Stamford Bridge hotseat. Since, there has been a return of familiar patterns and struggle to create in front of goal. The Blues have managed just five shots on target in their last three matches in comparison to 13 in Potter's opening three matches.
The contrast in form will be both worrying and reassuring for Potter. When he has all his tools available he has been able to earn results, and helped the Blues rebound to qualify from their Champions League group with a game to spare. However, Chelsea need to find a way to earn results and compete against the best when they are not at full strength, too.
It is for such situations that Potter will not be judged by the club immediately, a more accurate verdict will be made over time. With the likes of Joao Felix set to arrive to compensate for injuries to the likes of Raheem Sterling, Christian Pulisic and Armando Broja, standards will not drop from the supporter-base.
The impact of James' absences may even reinforce Chelsea's requirement for a more comparable back-up. With the wing-back set to return at the beginning of February, the Blues will have a key decision to make if they hope to convince someone to compete with their star, while Tino Livramento's own return from injury could provide a summer option given the buyback clause that becomes active in the summer.
With continued investment, the margin for error will become smaller regardless of the leeway provided to Potter this term. There is close to zero room for mistakes if Chelsea hope to find success this season with the Champions League the only trophy the club are left in contention for and the Blues' sitting 10 points behind fourth-placed Manchester United in the Premier League. At the very least, the trajectory must start heading in the right direction.
READ NEXT:
Barcelona £55m mistake over Chelsea summer transfer confirmed amid Mykhaylo Mudryk hijack
Noni Madueke's dream move revealed as Chelsea interested in Mykhaylo Mudryk transfer alternative
What Joao Felix has done at Atletico Madrid as Chelsea medical details are revealed
Chelsea shirt numbers available to Joao Felix ahead of six-month £9.7m loan move
Chelsea news and transfers LIVE: All the latest news, rumours and gossip from Stamford Bridge
