Graham Potter holds crisis talks with Chelsea players

By Declan Carr | 12 January 2023

Chelsea manager Graham Potter reveals that he held crisis talks with his senior players amid a poor run of form which has left his side sitting in mid-table.

Graham Potter held crisis talks with senior Chelsea players ahead of Thursday's Premier League trip to Fulham.

The 47-year-old revealed that he spoke with captain Cesar Azpilicueta, vice-captain Jorginho, the experienced Thiago Silva and Mateo Kovacic ahead of the trip to Craven Cottage.

Chelsea face a real threat of missing out on the Champions League places this season, and Potter sought the opinions of some of his most experienced players to gather what has gone wrong and what needs to change, in order to stop the rot.

"I spoke really at length yesterday with Thiago, Azpi, Jorgi, Kova – we had a really good conversation. They again showed their qualities as people," he told reporters.

"They were honest, articulated their concerns well. They articulated their positivity, they articulated their responsibility. I think we are in a place where we can move forward."

Chelsea have lost six of their last 10 matches, winning three and drawing one, and were knocked out of both the FA and EFL Cups by Manchester City in the past week, but Potter has backed his team to recover.

"It is an experienced team. The players are honest and they want to take responsibility. They want to improve, they want to win," he added.

The club are 10th in the Premier League, 10 points behind Manchester United in fourth place.