Revealed: Graham Potter expresses training concerns to Chelsea owners after £600m transfer spend

The pressure is rising on Graham Potter at Chelsea after another defeat meant they are now without a victory in their last six matches in all competitions.

Chelsea were well-beaten by Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday afternoon thanks to goals from Oliver Skipp and Harry Kane, which secured Spurs a 2-0 win in the capital to inflict a third straight defeat on Potter’s side.

Potter‘s side are on an alarming decline but the owners are continuing to back the 47-year-old despite their position of 10th place in the Premier League, as well as the Blues only scoring six goals in all competitions since November 6.

READ MORE: Todd Boehly’s miserable Chelsea reaction during Spurs defeat as Graham Potter pressure increases

Chelsea have heavily backed their managers in the two transfer windows since the takeover was completed in May 2022. Over £600 million has been spent across the team, including on a number of defenders, midfielders and attackers.

But it just isn’t functioning or clicking for Potter right now, who accepts that he hasn’t done enough to receive the trust of the increasingly frustrated supporters.

“I haven’t done enough at this club to have too much good faith; I also accept that,” Potter said after their 2-0 defeat to Spurs.

“My job isn’t to worry about that too much. I understand the question and where it comes from, but I have to try to focus on keeping on helping the team and supporting the players. I really like these players, they’re good lads. They want to do better and want to win. But at the moment we’re suffering and that is my responsibility.”

Potter has had to deal with a large number of injuries since his arrival last September. They have gradually returned one by one, as well as welcoming eight new additions to the club in January – six of whom have already played for the Blues, with Andrey Santos not yet obtaining his work permit and Malo Gusto returning to Lyon on loan for the remainder of the season.

Despite insisting ahead of most games that Chelsea have been training well, as reported by Matt Hughes of the Daily Mail, Potter has expressed concerns over the sessions being too bloated.

It’s claimed that following the January spend and after a month of working with a larger group, there are now concerns that the bloated numbers are affecting work on the training pitch.

Potter is suggested to have been ‘forced to alter his coaching sessions to keep all the players involved, or leave several hanging around or working in a smaller group elsewhere until they are required’ amid his preferred method of running 11v11 training matches.

The Chelsea head coach has constantly made changes to his team during his Blues tenure, reinforced on Sunday after making six changes to his starting XI in the defeat to Spurs, struggling to maintain continuity to allow the side to build rhythm and chemistry on a game-by-game basis.

Potter is starting to increasingly feel the pressure and his concerns will have likely been shared with the owners, who will have no doubt factored in the risks of signing a large number of players without shifting any out of the door as a result.

There is nothing Potter or the club can now do with the squad size between now and the end of the season. The focus must be on dealing with the challenges that face them and trying to find solutions to score goals and claim victories, things they are finding extremely difficult to do as of late.