Graham Potter hits out at the timing of Chelsea sacking and what it denied him

Graham Potter has revealed his deepest regrets following his tenure at Chelsea as he admitted the lost chance to lead the team in their clash against Real Madrid still stings him to this day. The 49-year-old took the reins following the departure of Thomas Tuchel in September 2022.

Potter arrived with an excellent reputation, having led Brighton to Champions League positions before leaving for Stamford Bridge, the Mirror reports. The Englishman arrived at Chelsea to find a team in mid-transition, burdened with the task of integrating an abundance of new summer signings.

His challenge intensified when Chelsea did not hesitate to continue their spending spree in January, highlighted by the £106m transfer of Enzo Fernandez. Initially enjoying a successful run, remaining unbeaten in their first nine matches, Potter's subsequent record plummeted as he acquired just 28 points from 22 league matches.

Despite poor league form, Chelsea excelled in the Champions League, overtaking Borussia Dortmund to set the stage for a quarter-final with Real Madrid – a match which Potter missed due to his dismissal, much to his disappointment.

Speaking to the Telegraph, Potter said: “I can't lie, of course it didn't matter to me that it was Real Madrid in the Champions League last 16,” and acknowledged the fantastic opportunity, adding: “It was like, 'What is this?' a game'. We actually felt like we could do something, so it was disappointing.

New interim manager Frank Lampard took charge of matches against Real Madrid in his second spell in charge of Chelsea. The Blues were beaten 2-0 in both matches and there was no silver bullet for their indifferent league form either.

Ranked 11th at the time of Potter's dismissal, Chelsea fell to 12th at the end of the season, winning just one of their final nine matches.

Over the next two years, Chelsea stuck to their transfer strategy and made an impressive number of signings, but current boss Enzo Maresca appears to have made progress by excluding players from his plans. While Potter has waited patiently for the right opportunity since leaving the Blues, the former Brighton boss believes he has learned valuable lessons and suggested other factors have also contributed to Chelsea's struggles.

“I take responsibility for the results,” Potter added. “I never said I was ever perfect and you live and learn, and you're grateful for the opportunity and grateful for the experience you had there. But there's probably a context that emerged.

“The easy way out is that Chelsea are not winning, so it must be the coach who has never worked at this level before, he is the problem. It may not be 100 per cent wrong , but that's not 100 percent true.”