Graham Potter admits it is hard to find a glimmer of light amid the gloom of Chelsea’s slump
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‘Everyone at the club is hurting’: Graham Potter admits it’s hard to find a ray of light amid Chelsea’s slump, after the Blues suffered their seventh defeat in 10 games at Fulham
- Chelsea’s 2-1 loss to Fulham on Thursday was their seventh loss in 10 games.
- The injuries accumulate and the new signing Joao Félix is suspended for the next three games
- Pressure mounts on Potter just four months after his arrival from Brighton
Graham Potter admits it’s hard to find a ray of light amidst the Chelsea depression in the dead of winter.
Potter’s Blues crashed out to their seventh defeat in 10 games at Fulham on Thursday, a result that leaves them 19 points behind Premier League leaders Arsenal with hopes of a fast-receding top four finish.
Injuries are mounting and expensive new signing Joao Félix will be banned for the next three games after receiving a red card on his debut.
Graham Potter admits it’s hard to find a ray of light amid the gloom of Chelsea’s mid-winter slump
Potter’s Blues crashed to their seventh defeat in 10 games at Craven Cottage on Thursday night
The pressure is mounting on the manager just four months after he arrived from Brighton on a five-year contract with Potter saying: “I can’t sit here and say things are looking up when results are as they are.
“We know a lot more about the club, a lot more about the players, a lot more about what we have to do to get the club back to where we think it can and should be.” At the moment, it is not there.
“A lot of things have happened over a period of time and have manifested in the situation we find ourselves in now. We have to make sure we act well in the future. But for now it’s hard. It’s hard to see any light or any green shoots because defeat still hurts.’
Denis Zakaria is the latest injury problem, forced out with a thigh problem during the 2-1 defeat at Craven Cottage, joining Reece James, Raheem Sterling, Christian Pulisic and Wesley Fofana on the absent list.
Sterling is expected to be sidelined for a further fifteen days due to the hamstring injury he sustained against his former club Manchester City last week, although he is being monitored daily.
Chelsea’s woes only increase with a laundry list of injuries and now new signing Joao Félix is suspended
Denis Zakaria is the latest injury problem, forced out with a thigh problem during the 2-1 defeat at Craven Cottage.
Goalkeeper Edouard Mendy’s broken finger is an injury expected to keep him out for up to six weeks, although Ruben Loftus-Cheek is closing in on a first-team return after picking up a calf injury in Chelsea’s defeat earlier. of the World Cup in Newcastle.
“It’s almost like going back to the drawing board,” Potter said. “It feels like you’ve taken a step and then suddenly something happens. You feel like you’re making progress watching Joao Felix and then all of a sudden, whoa, he’s not here for three games.
‘That’s where we’ve been right now. I’m sure our fans don’t want to hear that. They want to see better results and better performances, but that’s the position we’re in. Everyone in the club is suffering.
Chelsea are back at Stamford Bridge against Crystal Palace on Sunday and Potter insists there is nothing wrong with his players’ attitude.
“The players are a support,” he said. They want to do better. They want to 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. I don’t see any problem with mentality. I just think we have to improve.
Additional reporting: Adrian Kajumba
