Graham Potter Claims To Have The Hardest Job In Football

As injury-plagued Chelsea struggles to live up to expectations following Todd Boehly's acquisition of the Premier League team, Graham Potter asserts that he has the hardest job in football.

Despite Boehly's approval of a spending splurge on new acquisitions that has reached roughly £350 million ($425 million) since the end of the previous season, Potter's team is mired in 10th position in the top division.

Four months after being hired to replace the fired Thomas Tuchel, former Brighton manager Potter is already facing calls for his removal.

When singing the names of Tuchel and previous owner Roman Abramovich during Sunday's appalling 4-0 FA Cup third-round loss at Manchester City, Blues supporters added to the pressure on Potter.

The fact that Potter has been unable to use stars like N'Golo Kante, Ben Chilwell, and Reece James due to an ever-growing injury list makes it perhaps not unexpected that the Chelsea boss considers his position to be the most difficult in the sport.

"I have the utmost respect for the previous ownership and what they achieved and what they did. It's fantastic," Potter told reporters ahead of Thursday's west London derby at Fulham.

"But, unfortunately, they're not here anymore. It's a new ownership, everything's changed pretty quickly. "Lots of things went and you have to try to build it up again.

But, in the meantime, you've still got Chelsea, you've still got the demands and the expectations. "I think this is probably the hardest job in football.

Because of the leadership change and because of the expectations and, rightly, where people see Chelsea." Joao Felix, a Portuguese attacker, was acquired by Potter on loan from Atletico Madrid for the remainder of the campaign.

The 47-year-old met with senior players Cesar Azpilicueta, Thiago Silva, Jorginho, and Mateo Kovacic on Tuesday in an effort to diffuse the situation, but he also knows the need for quick results to prevent additional sack talk.

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

"The reality of where the club is in terms of establishing itself as a well-run football club, functioning well in a really competitive environment, maybe we're not quite there yet.

"In my head, that's quite easy for me to understand and get. But I know there's a lot of people that don't see it that way." Insisting he retains the support of Boehly and co-owner Behdad Eghbali, Potter added: "I've been in regular dialogue with the owners and they've been really supportive, fantastic.

"Change is challenging in any organization. But I didn't think we'd lose 10 first-team players. That's just where we're at. "This is a new era, a new chapter. We're going through some pain, it's difficult at the moment."