Chelsea owners assure Potter of long-term future
Chelsea are eighth in the table and in danger of slipping even lower down the Premier League pecking order by the time they host Bournemouth on Tuesday
Chelsea manager Graham Potter has revealed that talks with co-owner Behdad Eghbali have made him “even more confident” he has a long-term future as club manager.
Chelsea are eighth in the table and in danger of slipping even lower down the Premier League pecking order by the time they host Bournemouth on Tuesday.
Three straight league defeats and no domestic wins in any competition since October 16 has taken the shine off Potter’s impressive start as Thomas Tuchel’s successor, which began in September.
Even successful managers tended not to linger long at Stamford Bridge under Roman Abramovich and when Tuchel was fired just months after lifting the Champions League it looked as though Todd Boehly, the Russian’s successor, was prepared to adopt a similar policy.
A meeting with Eghbali in California during the World Cup put the former Brighton manager’s mind to rest, however.
“I’m even more confident, even more aware of the support I have now than I was three months ago when I took the job,” Potter said. “So that tells you something.
“It’s a credit to them and their support and how they have communicated with me — it’s been fantastic. We all know the pressure and the demands at this club but we have also got enough people who can see the perspective and where we are at to be able to say, ‘this is where we are, how can we improve?’
“I met up with Behdad and had a good chat with him. I’m really looking forward to the weeks and the months and the years ahead. We understand where we’re at at the moment and we understand the challenges ahead.”
Potter was accompanied to the States by his wife Rachel, but not their three young sons. “It was the first time without the kids — that’s why I feel healthy,” he joked.
“I would rather have gone on holiday with a couple of wins behind me because I probably would have been better company for my poor wife. She’s thinking about what a wonderful time we’re having and I’m staring in to the Pacific Ocean thinking about Chelsea...”
