‘Everyone is suffering’ – Graham Potter gives damning assessment of Chelsea crisis and admits it’s ‘tough to see any light’ or ‘green shoots’
Graham Potter has admitted 'a lot of things have happened over a period of time' for Chelsea to be in the position they're in.
The Blues suffered another defeat on Thursday when they went up against in-form west London rivals Fulham, and Potter has given a frank account of how he and his squad are feeling right now.
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Chelsea haven't won in four, with their last victory coming against Bournemouth at the end of December, and the club have claimed one draw and three defeats since.
The Blues' long list of injuries has had a huge impact on the 2021 Champions League winners.
To make Potter's life worse, new loan signing Joao Felix received a straight red card on his debut meaning he'll be absent for three games, too.
And with the west Londoners sat in 10th, six points off the European spots and having the same form this season as Blackpool's relegation side in 2010/11, Potter hasn't shied away from admitting the current situation at Stamford Bridge is bleak.
“We have to make sure we act well going forward but at the moment, it’s tough to see any light, it’s tough to see any green shoots because we’re still suffering from defeats," the Blues manager said.
"It’s hard to say that now because of the results we’ve had. We started the break back and thought about certain things then lost Reece [James], Wesley [Fofana], Raheem [Sterling] and Christian [Pulisic].
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“So it’s almost like back to the drawing board, that’s how it felt, it felt like taking one step, feel like you’re making progress watching Joao Felix then all of a sudden, ‘whoosh, he’s not here for three matches’. That’s where we’ve been at the moment.
“I’m sure our supporters don’t want to hear that, they want to see better results and performances. But that’s the position we’re in, we’re suffering and trying our best to improve it.
“Again, I can’t sit here and say that things are improving when the results are like they are. What we do know is that we know more about the club, more about the players, a lot more about what we need to get the club back to where it could be, where it should be.
"But at the moment, it’s not there. Lots of things have happened over a period of time that manifests itself into the situation.”
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Despite the ongoing issues at the Bridge, Potter did explain his players are totally on-side and there are no issues with attitude or effort from them.
And he believes that fight was shown in the game at Craven Cottage,
“Everybody at the club is suffering, is looking for answers, not necessarily looking for someone to blame but looking for a simple answer," he said. "Obviously, it’s not that simple.
“The players are supportive, they want to do better and get better results. We know the challenges we have, we don’t want to use them as an excuse, but they are what they are.
“The players, even down to 10 men, kept going and the spirit and the attitude was good with 10 men and I don’t think Fulham did that much, that’s why I’m disappointed with the goal and we kept pushing as well.”
Chelsea next face Crystal Palace in a must-win clash in the Premier League on Sunday, with kick-off set for 2pm.
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