Graham Potter says Chelsea players had ‘worst pre-season’ under Thomas Tuchel

Graham Potter was told by Chelsea players that they had terrible pre-season under Thomas Tuchel

Graham Potter defended his poor management of the team and claimed that under Thomas Tuchel, the players had the worst preseason.

Ex-Chelsea manager Tuchel was at the helm of Chelsea’s tour to the USA for their preseason, which was decided by the previous owners before the £4.25bn purchase of the club by Todd Boehly’s consortium in May.

Despite his club’s dismal performance in all competitions, Potter insisted that the owners support him and it’s a long-term project which will take time to eke positive results.

Over the last two transfer windows, Chelsea have invested over £600 million on players, but injuries and adjustment time have prevented the Blues from turning things around.

Potter blames Chelsea’s lack of success in their previous ten games across all competitions, including just one victory, in part on some of his players’ subpar preseasons.

Speaking to Sky Sports, the 47-year-old expressed his opinion that the players did not have enough time to integrate with one another before the start of the new season, as he said:

“Speaking to a couple of the experienced guys, they thought it was the worst preseason they’ve had for different reasons. That’s not to blame anybody; that happens. Organizationally, the tour didn’t work as well as they’d like. “I wasn’t there, so I can’t say.”

It’s true that integrating so many new players from various leagues, even if you are an experienced player, is really complicated. Potter has been inundated with acquisitions from new signings in both transfer windows.

Many require a few seasons, while others require just a few games to settle. Furthermore, he is not a magician who will automatically guide the team to victory.

The owners and supporters will need to support him through the rest of the season because it would be absurd for them to fire Potter following the abrupt sacking of Tuchel.

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As for his comments about the pre-season under Tuchel, they shouldn’t be taken out of context. He is trying to talk candidly here and we can’t single those comments out as a dig aimed at Tuchel. Like he said, it happens. It is, however, an odd time to bring this up.

This can’t be used as an excuse for our horrible form in recent weeks under Potter.