The hierarchy of Chelsea Football Club has made its stance clear concerning the future of club manager Graham Potter, a report from the UK has revealed. Amid calls for the Blues' head coach to be sacked, the board has jumped to the defense of the under-fire Englishman and have given him their blessings to remain at the helm of affairs.
Back in September, supporters of Chelsea met the appointment of Potter with a mixed reaction following the sack of former manager Thomas Tuchel. Despite seemingly overachieving with Brighton in the past couple of seasons, former has barely done enough to win over the affection of the Stamford Bridge faithful. After 23 games in the Premier League, the London club has accumulated just 31 points. They risk missing out on qualification for next season's Champions League as they are currently 11 points adrift of a top-four spot.
Over the weekend, the shortcomings of Chelsea were compounded after falling to a shocking home defeat against relegation-battling Southampton. A stunning free-kick by James Ward-Prowse stole all the points for the Saints, and the result has since sparked another backlash. A section of the Blues' fans on social media have been left frustrated by the series of poor result and are demanding the immediate removal of Graham Potter barely five months after his appointment.
Graham #Potter at #Chelsea shows his win record percentage is the lowest (29.4%) compared to managers such as José #Mourinho (69%), Thomas Tuchel, Antonio Conte, Grant, Carlo Ancelotti, Claudio Ranieri, Lampard, Di Matteo, Luca Vialli, Sarri, Hiddink and others. The lowest. #CFC pic.twitter.com/2732LQi0Uj
— Angelo Mangiante (@angelomangiante) February 20, 2023
However, the club's fans will not be getting their prayers answered anytime with reports suggesting that Graham Potter still has the support of chairman Todd Boehly and the club's board despite their rough patch. According to BBC Sport, the owners have reiterated the fact that hiring the former Brighton boss was part of a long-term project. As a result, they retain full confidence in his abilities as they believe that the team requires some time to gel spending over $700M spent on new players in the past two transfer windows to aid the rebuilding project.
To clear any lingering doubts, the Chelsea hierarchy has also stated that the club's performance in this season's Champions League does not have any bearing on whether or not Potter will be sacked and neither does the club's potential inability to qualify for Europe next season. Under the tutelage of the English coach, the club has won just nine of the 25 games played since his appointment and sit 10th in the Premier League, with just one win in 2023.
