‘You’re in the washing machine’ – Graham Potter compares Chelsea exit to grieving

Ex-Chelsea boss Graham Potter has likened his abrupt departure from the club 18-months ago to grieving.

The 49-year-old was axed in March 2023 after seven months in charge at the west London club with a 2-0 home defeat at Aston Villa proving to be the final straw.

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Graham Potter’s stint as Chelsea boss was a short-lived one having taken charge of just 31 gamesCredit: GettyThe loss was his 11th in 31 games after leaving his post at Brighton to take over from Thomas Tuchel in September 2022.

His arrival coincided with the end of the transfer window where Tuchel has given licence the splash the cash on stars such as Raheem Sterling, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Wesley Fofana, Kalidou Koulibaly and Marc Cucurella.

The German was sacked a week later and Potter was tasked with quickly finding the right formula with a star-studded yet overcrowded squad.

Read more on ChelseaThe January window saw Potter given more ammunition to work with as Chelsea completed deals for Enzo Fernandez, Mykhailo Mudryk, Benoit Badiashile and Noni Madueke.

Potter was unable to find the solutions to Chelsea’s spiralling run of form which saw them drop to 11th in the table, and was subsequently dismissed by club chiefs.

Reflecting on his Chelsea exit, Potter revealed the unpleasant nature of his sacking and admits time away from the game has helped the healing process. 

“It’s a bit like a grieving process in a way, it gets better with time,” he told The Telegraph.

 “You have to try not to beat yourself up, but you can’t just blame everything on somebody else. You’ve got to find the right balance. It’s not nice because of the high-profile nature of it.”

He added: “There’s a humiliation that it doesn’t go well. I was sacked after seven months of a five-year contract after being taken from Brighton, so there’s all that on a human level you have to deal with.

“The first six months were tough because I worked really, really hard to get that type of opportunity. I don’t think it was the only opportunity I was going to get because I left Brighton in a really, really good place. 

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Chelsea owner Todd Boehly brutally parted ways with Potter after seeing the Blues fall 2 points adrift of Champions League qualificationCredit: Rex

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Potter struggled to bed in his array of superstar names before his axingCredit: Getty

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The 49-year-old was unable to build any momentum during his ill-fated spell at Stamford BridgeCredit: Getty“So it was about choosing the right opportunity. And I didn’t choose the wrong one, it just didn’t work out. I don’t have any regrets over doing it, but, at the same time, when anybody loses their job, there’s an element of frustration, anger and maybe bitterness at some point.”

Potter did not make any excuses for his ill-fated time at the club despite having to oversee a chaotic period, although he did admit to feeling overwhelmed by the circumstances.

“It was almost like the perfect storm,” Potter said.

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“It was 14 matches in six weeks prior to the World Cup. It was like you were in the washing machine, that’s what we said within the staff, because the games kept coming and we had no preparation time or anything.

“We lost Reece [James] and Wesley [Fofana] to injury. I think we had the most players at the World Cup and pretty quickly afterwards we lost Raheem [Sterling] and Christian Pulisic.”

Potter has not been short of offers during his sabbatical from the game. Lyon and Ajax both made their interest known whilst closer to home, Leicester City made an approach for him this summer but he rejected their advances.

Potter has yet to secure his next role but revealed he is now ready to return to management.

Read More on talkSPORTHe was also touted as a credible candidate to take over the England head coach role after Gareth Southgate’s exit.

Reports suggest Potter remains on the FA’s radar to replace Southgate with interim boss Lee Carsley the current favourite to land the job on full-time basis.