John Terry rules Chelsea out of title race, but backs Graham Potter

John Terry rules Chelsea out of the Premier League title race and fears another trophy-less season could be on the cards for his old club… but the former Blues captain insists Graham Potter is NOT out of his depth at Stamford Bridge

  • John Terry believes Chelsea are out of the Premier League title race already
  • However, the Blues legend has been impressed by Graham Potter’s start as boss 
  • Terry believes Potter has instantly related with the young squad in training
  • Potter’s Blues secured their first win with Saturday’s 2-1 victory at Crystal Palace 

John Terry believes Chelsea have lost too much ground to be league champions this season, but that Graham Potter’s already left his mark on the young Chelsea squad in his first days on the training ground at Cobham.

The Blues legend said Potter has made a similar impression on his arrival at Chelsea as Jose Mourinho did when he started at the club in 2004.

Potter secured his first win since joining the club from Brighton on Saturday, with Conor Gallagher’s late goal giving Chelsea a 2-1 win at Crystal Palace.

Graham Potter came into Chelsea like Jose Mourinho arrived in 2004, according to John Terry

Terry, right, told beIN Sports that Potter had made a good impression since joining Chelsea

Terry does not know what Potter’s focus is in his first season. The former Blues skipper told beIN Sports: ‘It’s been five years since we won the Premier League. Is that going to change this year? No. So you’re looking at the FA Cup, Carabao Cup, European Cup… it’s going to be tough.

‘So then all of your eggs are going to be in two baskets domestically, and actually you need to keep players fit so do you rest and rotate players to make sure they get in the top four? What’s the priority? Only Potter will know that.’

Some pundits had claimed that Potter was not the right man for the Chelsea job, and that the star-studded dressing room at Stamford Bridge would be too big for the 47-year-old to navigate despite his success at Brighton.

However, Terry, 41, dismissed those comments, stating: ‘I honestly don’t think it is [too big for Potter]. I think what he did at Brighton was incredible and their position in the league speaks for itself.

Terry believes Potter has come into Chelsea and related with their young players straight away

‘When you speak to anyone within the training ground or around the place, what he’s done on the field has spoken for itself: the way he plays, the formation.

‘But also the way he is with the players. I think in this day and age, if you’re a young manager, you need to understand the players. And I think these young managers like him understand the players better than anybody, and can relate to them.

‘I think you get them onside by day one, everyone is going to be watching. That first meeting, the first training session: how does he conduct himself? How does he hold himself? Can he handle this big dressing room?

Mourinho, left, made a good impression from day one at Chelsea, according to Terry, right

‘And if he’s come in and put his marker down from day one, players, go “Ooh hello”. Pretty much like we did when Mourinho came in. No-one had really heard of him and then he comes in and goes “I’m in charge”. If [Potter] has done a similar thing, both on the pitch and off the pitch, the players will respect that.

‘But also they’ll be looking at his sessions and tactically how he sets them up for games and that side of it. So you’ve got a two or three day window where you can go and impress the players – and by all accounts, he’s gone and done that.

‘And listen, I hope he does well!’

Potter will be hoping to follow up his maiden Chelsea win with a strong performance against AC Milan in the Champions League on Wednesday, before facing Wolves in the league next weekend.




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