Chelsea boss Potter accepts scrutiny after defeat to Spurs
Chelsea slumped to yet another miserable defeat on Sunday, crashing 2-0 at Spurs - a new low for under-fire manager Graham Potter
Graham Potter realises that he no longer has enough goodwill in the bank with Chelsea supporters to put an end to mounting speculation over his future. His Chelsea side crashed to yet another defeat on Sunday - Oliver Skipp and Harry Kane hit second half goals as Tottenham ran out 2-0 winners in the all-London affair.
Chelsea’s dismal away form
Sunday’s result means Chelsea have failed to win any of their last eight away games in the Premier League (D4 L4) – their longest such run in the competition since a 16-match run between April 2000 and March 2001. Despite being well aware of the pressure he is under, Potter insists his focus is on turning around the Blues’ fortunes.
“There’s always that question [over his future],” he said. “And you can’t stop the questions. With results like they are, you accept it. I haven’t done enough at this club to have too much good faith. I accept that. My job isn’t to worry too much about that. I understand the question, but I have to keep focusing on the team and helping the players. They are good lads who want to win, but at the moment we’re suffering, and that is my responsibility. I need to focus on what I can control, which is the next day and the next training session. Our supporters have been very fair and supported the team. I’ve no complaints with the supporters. They’re entitled to be upset and angry with the results we’ve got and that is my responsibility.”
Toothless in attack
Chelsea have now scored a measly six goals in their past 12 league games - the worst strike rate of any team in the division since the start of November. Potter acknowledged the scale of the issue, but the former Brighton and Hove Albion boss warned against any quick fixes.
“It’s a combination of a few things and it’s not easy to answer,” he explained. “We’ve had chances, but we’ve not scored them. Today it wasn’t a case of that. It was a tight game and the first goal was always going to be important. There is an element of players coming back from injury, getting them up to speed. As a team, we’re not there in terms of how we want to look and how we want to function.”