Chelsea’s manager, Graham Potter has said that he’s taking the blame for his side’s 2-0 defeat to Aston Villa at Stamford Bridge on Saturday, April 1.
Ollie Watkins gave Villa the lead in the first half before captain John McGinn’s long-range effort in the second period doubled the advantage for the away side. The result has piled pressure on Potter, with Chelsea now 11th in the table. Speaking after the match, Potter told BBC Sport: “In both boxes we were second best. The first goal for them is disappointing from our perspective. “There were a lot of good things in the game, a lot of attacking entries and shots. If you look at the stats of the game it was a positive performance, but in terms of the scoreline it’s not. We’re all really disappointed. “The most important number is the one that goes against us. We have to do better. In terms of the game, you can see the players gave everything, they took on the responsibility, they tried, they had lots of entries into the box and shots and attacks. 
“Ultimately we conceded a poor first goal which makes everything very emotional and rightly so. We’re disappointed because we’re 1-0 down but the players responded well they kept on responding throughout. The second goal is disappointing because we started the second half well. “But if you look at the stats apart from the main one there is a lot of positives there. But at the moment into doesn’t feel too positive. “Defensively we’ve left ourselves too open but again if you look at the stats of the game we had chances ourselves, we had one-v-ones, but the most important thing, putting the ball into the net, we were second-best. “I don’t like to blame anybody, I have to take responsibility. We are a team, we have to stay together, we are together. We win or lose together.” Chelsea will be facing a crucial home game against Liverpool on Tuesday, April 4, with the Champions League quarter-final later this month potentially a make-or-break tie for Potter.
Havertz converted a penalty in Tuesday night’s last-16 clash, and it was a goal that gave Chelsea the 2-1 win on aggregate. The German footballer who spoke to reporters after the match was asked what qualifying for the quarter-finals of the Champions League meant for Potter. He told beIN Sports; 
“We know the pressure is coming at him. You can see he is a big manager. In the media I cannot believe how many people talk about him. “We have 100s of coaches in England that think they know better than him. We know in the changing room he’s a big personality and big manager and helps us all a lot. Me included. We are 100 per cent behind him. “Even though the people may not see it, today everybody seen he is a big manager.” 
Though Chelsea has splashed out around £600 million ($723m) across the last two transfer windows, Potter has only gotten nine wins from 25 games. The 47-year-old who was handed the managerial reins at Stamford Bridge in September 2022, has said that he is “not stupid” and recognises that “people want something different” from the club. He told reporters; “I am not stupid or naive. My job is to keep going and keep helping and supporting the team and take that criticism. You can only be yourself and try your best while being yourself. I get it that when you are losing that there’s always something you should do or change. I have always been this way and it has gotten me to this point but, at the same time, I know people want something different.” 
Potter further listed some of the challenges he’s faced so far and which have impacted negatively on the club’s performance. He added; “There is transition and there’s factors but, at the same time, when the team is losing and we’ve had the results we’ve had then you can also understand it. We’ve invested in some young players, if you look at Enzo [Fernandez], [Noni] Madueke and [Mykhailo] Mudryk, they haven’t played that many games. They are learning to play in the Premier League. We’re managing quite an unprecedented injury list — so you have to manage that in the Premier League. All that is true but, unfortunately when you lose, it is not what people want to hear. I know my quality and I know what I have done in my career but I also understand than when results don’t go your way that you are open to criticism and that’s fair.” 
Aubameyang’s name was omitted from the list of players for Chelsea’s Champions League last-16 tie against Borussia Dortmund. Three new signings for the club were added to the new list. This has led to speculation of a rift between him and Potter. Addressing reporters after the Premier League match against Fulham which ended 0-0, Potter stated that Aubameyang did nothing wrong. The Chelsea coach said; 
“I don’t think it’s going to be difficult because Pierre is a professional. He was the one that missed out, he’s done nothing wrong at all. We wanted to give David some time today. Whichever decision there was always going to be a debate. It was my decision, a tough decision. “Nothing bad against him I understand his disappointment but I’ve got a responsibility to make these decisions and articulate them to the player. He handled it well and trained well today… Yes [he can fit in the system], everything is up for grabs and needs to train like today. Everything is up for grabs.” Aubameyang has scored just three times in the 17 appearances he has made for the Blues since his arrival from Barcelona in September. 
“Chelsea are overpaying for players, I still don’t think the majority of their first XI gets anywhere near Man City’s team. “I’ve watched Enzo Fernandez live and he’s decent, but he’s not £100m. They’ve been absolutely bent over there. “But he’s not Casemiro, he’s not Rodri. They’re overspending on players, clubs are seeing Chelsea come and they’re basically just pulling their pants down.” 
Ahead of Chelsea’s match against Crystal Palace today, January 15, Graham Potter has said that he has the full support of the club’s board even with the poor performance of his team in over 10 matches they’ve played. 
Potter who admitted that he was under pressure after two defeats before the World Cup break, told reporters that if anyone he works for thinks the problem lies with him, they have the right to sack him. He said; “There are always questions if you don’t get the results. I was under pressure after two defeats before the World Cup break – and that is from the media. In terms of the board, I’ve had full support but I am not naive. If anybody that I work for thinks the problem lies with me then they have every right to say, ‘Thank you very much but it’s not working’. I accept that.” 
When asked if the players were still committed to his ideas, Potter said; “From what I see, they are professional, responsible, and honest. We’re in a bad moment and we’ve got challenges, everyone suffers from that point. January is always complicated no matter where you are because the window is open and human beings are human beings, but I don’t see any problems in that regard. I have the support of the boys and they have mine. We just need to keep working.” 
