Ruben Loftus-Cheek has explained how the Chelsea squad are all behind Graham Potter and how there is a "massive respect" towards the head coach.
The Blues have recently hit some decent form, winning three of their last four matches in all competitions, which has completely transformed the mood around the club. However, going into the Leeds United game – the first of their most recent four matches – things were looking very different.
Potter, who was appointed as Chelsea head coach in September following Thomas Tuchel's sacking, was under immense pressure with the Blues winning just one of their previous 11 games in all competitions. Even some Chelsea supporters who were at the games let their frustration towards Potter known, but the club's new ownership group kept sending out the same message: 'this is a long-term project and Potter has our backing'.
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Despite speculation from the outside that Potter had lost the dressing room, with some claiming a few players were unhappy with how he was handling things, that was never the case according to Loftus-Cheek. The Chelsea midfielder has insisted that "all the players" have a "massive respect" for the 47-year-old and believe he is the right man to lead the club forward.
"I think the way it looks from the outside is very different to how we feel in the club and the training ground," the Chelsea midfielder said in an interview with talkSPORT. "We've got massive respect for Graham Potter and we all believe he's a good manager.
"We started really well with him, we had a difficult patch, but now we're starting to play better football. Through that difficult patch we stuck together and were behind him 100 per cent.
"The way it looked from the outside maybe it didn't look like that. But from me, and behalf of all the players, we were right behind the manager and believed in the players and the group."
Chelsea are down in 10th-place in the Premier League table, 11 points behind Tottenham in fourth, so hopes of qualifying for the Champions League via the league look very slim. But if the Blues are to win the European competition, with two legs of a quarter-final against Real Madrid on the horizon, then they will qualify that way.
Loftus-Cheek, who was part of the squad when Tuchel led Chelsea to European glory in 2021, is once again dreaming of success in the competition. The 27-year-old, however, said it's not "Champions League or bust" for Potter; which echoes the owners' view on the situation as they look for the head coach to spearhead their long-term vision at Stamford Bridge.
When asked if winning the Champions League is now Chelsea's main objective this season, Loftus-Cheek replied: "Well we're not going to win the league. We're out of the cup [both cups – the FA Cup and Carabao Cup]. Champions League is all we have.
"I wouldn't say it's Champions League or bust, we've still got a bit more time in the Premier League to jump up the table. But for us, Champions League is where we're at. Champions League is where we need to knuckle down and focus and give ourselves the best chance of winning."
Loftus-Cheek will be hoping to end this season with a bang one way or another. The midfielder sees his contract with Chelsea come to an end in just over 12 months' time and the club are yet to open talks with him over extending his stay in west London.
When the summer transfer window comes around, every year it seems Loftus-Cheek is linked with a move away from the club, but he has played a crucial role within the first-team squad this season. He's played 27 times for the Blues this season in all competitions, totalling 1,634 minutes. He is on track to at least match last season's tally of 2,160 minutes in the remaining games of the campaign.
Potter perhaps will still regard Loftus-Cheek as somewhat of a bit-part player, but football.london understands that is a role he has been satisfied with in recent seasons. He wishes to stay at Chelsea despite perhaps being able to play more minutes away from Stamford Bridge.
There is still plenty of football to play before now and then, though, and Loftus-Cheek is set to be a big part of Potter's plans in that time.
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