Chelsea manager Graham Potter has said some of the club’s new signings need to adapt to the Premier League, with the club’s January spending spree still changing their poor form.
Chelsea were held to a 1-1 draw by West Ham on Saturday, with Atletico Madrid loanee Joao Felix scoring his first goal for the club before former Chelsea full-back Emerson equalized shortly after. The result means Chelsea have won just once in their last eight matches in all competitions.
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In his post-match press conference, Potter said Chelsea’s progress is being stalled by a list of issues, including his new signings needing time to adapt to England’s top flight.
“I just said from a performance perspective that I thought it was [an improved performance]said Potter.
“You can also see the potential of the team, but you can also see where the work is, bringing Rhys James up to speed, bringing Ben Chilwell up to speed, Ruben Loftus-Cheek. speeds up Wesley Fofana, who upgrades N’Golo Kante, who adjusts [Myhailo] Mudryk in the Premier League, who is adapting [Noni] Madueke in the Premier League, who adapts Benoit Badiashile in the Premier League, who adapts Joao Felix in the Premier League.
“That’s how it is, that’s how I see it and I’ll be honest to say how it is, but I totally understand people being disappointed if you don’t win.”
Chelsea made eight signings in January and, due to their bloated squad, were forced to leave defender Badiashile and striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang out of the squad for the Champions League.
Potter said managing a team of this size is a challenge, but also described the situation as “exciting”.
“I think it’s a challenge, but it’s my job,” he said. “It’s exciting, it tests you because you have to make sure you communicate well and manage the environment because otherwise it might not go very positively, but it’s been a good training week.
“Then you have to have honest discussions and respect the fact that the players will be disappointed, because that’s normal.”
Chelsea are ninth in the Premier League table after Saturday’s draw and resume their Champions League campaign at Borussia Dortmund on Wednesday.