Chelsea coach urges critics to listen to Guardiola and show him respect  

The Chelsea head coach Graham Potter accepts that his critics are not entirely wrong but feels his work deserves more respect.

Potter’s side host Manchester City at Stamford Bridge on Thursday on the back of only one win in seven in the league but Pep Guardiola has long been a public supporter of Potter.

The City manager’s admiration stretches back to Potter’s time coaching Swansea City and the Chelsea head coach suggested that comes from Guardiola’s deep understanding of the sport.

“You understand that when results aren’t like you want them to be, there are always people that will question you,” Potter said. “And because you’re a human being and you don’t do everything perfectly, and there is always room to improve, it’s not like the people criticising you are 100 per cent wrong. You can get that.

“But I think if you did the research on football — and not just Pep, other people in the game who’ve played against my teams and watched the work I’ve done — there is a general level of respect. There is certainly from my perspective to him because he is a fantastic person but also because of what he has achieved as a football and coach. It’s amazing.”

Potter is only 15 games into his tenure at Stamford Bridge, since replacing Thomas Tuchel as head coach on a five-year contract, but is under pressure after an unconvincing 1-1 draw with Nottingham Forest on Sunday left them tenth in the table.

“Such a lot has happened in those 15 matches and I’ve been here only four months — and it feels longer than that if I’m honest,” Potter said. “It’s a season that is obviously unique.

 “We see Man City as an opportunity to play against one of the best teams in the world. It will be a different game to the one we faced [on New Year’s Day] but it will be complicated and tough. You need those games, and you need these ones [like Nottingham Forest] as well.

“As much as we want to win — and I don’t want to sound like it’s acceptable to lose, it’s not — but unfortunately part of the game is dropping points, is not succeeding, you’ve got to suffer and get better. When I think back to how I got to this point, a lot of the things are the setbacks and the moments of struggle.”

City have the opportunity to close the gap to Premier League leaders Arsenal to five points with a win at Stamford Bridge, before meeting Chelsea again at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday for an FA Cup third-round tie.

Todd Boehly, the Chelsea chairman and co-owner, is aiming to improve Potter’s squad during the January transfer window. They are negotiating with Benfica over a deal for the World Cup-winning Argentina midfielder Enzo Fernandez, while also attempting to hijack Arsenal’s bid for Shakhtar Donetsk winger Mykhaylo Mudryk.

“We will try in every window to improve, but January [transfer window] is a complicated one because it’s the middle of the season,” Potter said. “In the meantime, we have to deal with all the noise of Chelsea getting linked with everybody and I don’t comment on any player that isn’t a Chelsea player.”