Posted: 22:29, September 9, 2022 | Updated: 23:03, September 9, 2022
Chelsea intend to stick with Graham Potter even if they miss out on Champions League qualification. Potter was named as Thomas Tuchel’s successor on Thursday, with his new employers expecting a top-four finish to be their least achieved this season along with a run deep into Europe’s top competition. However, the Todd Boehly-Clearlake Capital joint venture, which now owns Chelsea, is preparing for a long-term partnership with Potter and the club. They don’t see a year out as a reason to scrap those plans, or an outcome that would leave Potter in danger of losing his job. Chelsea boss Graham Potter has received the long-term backing of his new signing After evaluating Chelsea from top to bottom in their first 100 days, they are confident they have succeeded in making Potter their first managerial appointment and have full faith in what they have planned for the club. Potter is on a five-year contract and it also appears he’s been told he’ll take the time he needs to make things work. Potter left Brighton fourth in the table, three points clear of sixth-placed Chelsea. The Londoners have lost three of their seven games so far this season, including Tuesday’s shock Champions League defeat by Dinamo Zagreb, which turned out to be Tuchel’s last game. However, according to senior sources, there is an acceptance that Chelsea have missed a vital opportunity to play as a team, with much of their transfer business done towards the end of the window, and a firm belief that a vastly improved squad will emerge. the season evolves, led by the new man Potter. Potter settled at Stamford Bridge last week following the shock sacking of Thomas Tuchel Chelsea’s previous regime under Roman Abramovich were not afraid to sack managers for failing to meet expectations at the end of the season, or even partway through, when results or performances were deemed to be sub-par, leaving their prospects of success in jeopardy . . Carlo Ancelotti lost his job at the end of the 2010-11 season when they finished runners-up but without a trophy just a year after winning the club’s first — and only — league and cup double. Luiz Felipe Scolari, Andres Villas-Boas, Roberto Di Matteo, Jose Mourinho in his second spell at Chelsea and Frank Lampard left mid-season. The position of the new hierarchy for Potter, therefore, represents a shift in outlook from the top of Chelsea. Potter has shown what he can do and how he can overachieve in a given time, part of the reason Boehly and Co turned to him to replace Tuchel. Chelsea owner Todd Boehly understands Potter may take time to shape the squad to suit his style of play He spent more than seven years at Swedish side Ostersund, leading them from the fourth division to the first and the Europa League. After a season at Swansea, he was appointed manager of Brighton in May 2019 following their 17th-placed finish. He led them to 15th, 16th and ninth – a top-flight finish, record points and goals – having introduced a striking style of play and left himself in a healthy financial position after improving a number of players to the extent that Brighton were able to make significant contributions amounts for them. He will be reunited with one of their own at Chelsea in left-back Marc Cucurella, who moved to London last month after a year under Potter at Brighton in a deal worth up to £62million. Potter met and trained his new team for the first time yesterday. With today’s lunchtime trip to Fulham canceled following the Queen’s death, Potter will now take charge of his first game against RB Salzburg at Stamford Bridge in the Champions League on Wednesday.
