Chelsea manager Graham Potter reportedly looks to be safe in his current job, but some really poor form that sees them fall into the bottom half of the Premier League table could change things.
That’s according to CBS Sports journalist Ben Jacobs, writing in his column for Si & Dan Talk Chelsea, with the reporter explaining that Potter knew he took the job at Chelsea on the understanding that this would be a long-term project.
It’s not been a great start for the former Brighton manager at Stamford Bridge, but there’s been plenty of change at the club under new owner Todd Boehly, so it seems the new boss will be given a bit longer to make things work.
“When Graham Potter moved to Chelsea he was told the board backed him to help deliver a long-term vision. Part of the appeal of leaving Brighton was to join an ambitious project with patient owners,” Jacobs wrote.
He added: “The whole point of hiring Potter was a belief he was the right fit, both as a coach but also within a newly-built recruitment team. It’s Potter’s role in the latter that will probably buy him time.
“Potter met with Chelsea co-owner Behdad Eghabli during the World Cup break and left even more confident Chelsea’s owners aren’t going to react to this poor run of form.
“January is a key month for Potter, though. Missing out on Champions League football, but showing progress and a clear identity, is one thing. But falling into the bottom half of the table and thus potentially missing out on the top four by a big distance is another thing altogether.”
Potter became very highly regarded after his superb work at Brighton, and Chelsea may also do well to look at how things have improved under Mikel Arteta at Arsenal, who look a completely different team from his first couple of years in charge at the Emirates Stadium.
Potter needs a bit of time to shape his squad but also needs to deliver progress with the current one. With the multi million £ talent at his disposal, finishing in the bottom half of the table would be a complete failure. If he had no money I’d sort of understand it but the resources at his disposal is more than all of the clubs in the bottom half put together.