Graham Potter: My big 'mistake' with Chelsea owners during 'impossible' job

Graham Potter has lifted the lid on his sacking at Chelsea, revealing the one mistake he made regarding the owners and what made the job "impossible."

Potter lasted just seven months at Stamford Bridge after becoming Todd Boehly and Clearlake's first managerial appointment following the sacking of Thomas Tuchel in September 2022.

The former Brighton manager was tasked with overseeing a new revolution at Chelsea as the club spent record-breaking amounts to sign the world's best youngsters, but ended up being dismissed the following April with the lowest points-per-game return of any Chelsea manager.

Potter made a rare TV appearance, as a pundit on Sky Sports' Monday Night Football after more than 18 months out of the limelight, to discuss Chelsea, links with Manchester United and more.

“The culture at Chelsea over a period of time has got them success so I respect that," Potter said. "I suppose you could feel that from the outside, the media and the supporters. Perhaps the mistake I made was that I thought with new ownership there would be a change of culture.

“But culture runs a lot deeper than that. Before the World Cup, we’d only lost three matches in the Premier League — one to Arsenal, who were top at the time, and to Newcastle and Brighton away — but the world was closing in and we were close to crisis.

“Perspective is not always easy to get, and at the time Chelsea were used to winning and competing. It was easy to say it must be the coach as he’s not used to playing at this level or worked at this level. Maybe he was the problem, and I could understand that as the results weren’t what they expected.”

Chelsea's ownership have since hired and fired Mauricio Pochettino, and given both Bruno Saltor and Frank Lampard interim spells in charge, before handing the job to Enzo Maresca over the summer.

Graham Potter

Potters says the working environment was "very turbulent" and suggests that the large intake of players made the job "impossible", but appears to lay the blame at his own feet.

He added: “After speaking to the owners, they were very ambitious. They wanted to challenge for trophies and use younger players. The chance to have that opportunity to work with younger players and build an environment. We did some things well.

“All of a sudden there was a bit of adjustment to be done while still trying to compete, the whole team was in a bit of flux. There was a lot of adjusting. It’s impossible to play everybody in every minute. Finding that stability was a bit of a struggle. You live and you learn. It was a very turbulent period in Chelsea’s history. I wish I had done better.”