Graham Potter said he is ready for the extra scrutiny and pressure at Chelsea by insisting “if I wanted a nice easy life, I could have quite easily stayed working at Brighton.”
Potter replaced Thomas Tuchel as head coach in September and oversaw a promising start before successive Premier League defeats to Brighton and Arsenal left Chelsea 13 points adrift of top spot.
Chelsea now face a daunting Carabao Cup third round trip to Manchester City before their final outing before the World Cup break at high-flying Newcastle United.
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Habitually, Chelsea managers have quickly come under pressure following a run of poor results but new co-owners Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital have been keen to stress a long-term vision with Potter at the helm.
Asked about the working environment at Stamford Bridge, Potter said on Tuesday: “I would say it is a little bit unfair to assess Chelsea now because the change of ownership has happened. We are on a new direction, a new path and ultimately that is part of the challenge.
“If I wanted a nice easy life, I could have quite easily stayed working at Brighton in the Premier League and signed a new contract and been absolutely OK.
“And I wouldn’t have had too many questions about myself or pressure or sacking or anything like that, but the reason to come here, one of the reasons to come here as there were many, it’s a fantastic football club, potentially one of the best in the world that can compete for any major trophy.
“We all know we are not at that point now and we haven’t been for two or three years is the reality if you look at the league table and the points difference between the top two. So, OK, how do you get there? That’s hard work, pain and suffering and moving forward it is learning and developing and that’s why we’re here.”
Potter also discussed one aspect of the conundrum created by a mid-season World Cup — the chance for the winners to celebrate. The World Cup Final takes place on Dec. 18 with Carabao Cup fourth round matches due to provisionally take place just three days later before the Premier League resumes on Boxing Day.
“Honestly it is hard for me to sit here and know what the motivation for another human being will be after something like the World Cup,” Potter said.
“Of course it depends if you win it. I don’t even know but can they even celebrate in their own country after they win the World Cup? I don’t know, I’m asking you guys! [Brazil] win the World Cup and you can’t even go back to Brazil! What’s it come to if they can’t?
“I could [be selfish and say ‘come back’]. That’s the challenge of having a World Cup in the middle [of the season] because the alternative is saying ‘don’t go celebrate the World Cup by the way, you come back here and train.’
“Even then it’s so difficult because they will have played a game on whatever day it is and then they have to recover emotionally. How long does it take to recover from a World Cup final? I mean most people I imagine celebrating for two, three weeks, open top buses everywhere and then they need a two-three week holiday to get over that celebration!
“Obviously we are English so it’s been a long time since we knew about that. Who is going to be in the final? Hopefully England from our perspective, but you never know. And then on that point, what if you’ve lost the World Cup Final? How long does it take to get over that? Probably not three or four days.”
