Chelsea have sacked head coach Graham Potter.
The club took steps to end Potter’s reign after just seven months following a 2-0 loss to Aston Villa at Stamford Bridge on Saturday.
The 47-year-old has overseen just four wins this calendar year and leaves Chelsea 11th in the Premier League table, 12 points shy of Champions League places.
In a statement, the club said: “Chelsea FC have announced that Graham Potter has left the club. Graham has agreed to work with the club to facilitate a smooth transition.
“During his time at the club, Graham has led us to the quarterfinals of the Champions League, where we will face Real Madrid.
“Chelsea would like to thank Graham for all his efforts and contributions and wish him the best for the future.”
The club has confirmed that Bruno Saltor will take charge of the team as interim manager.
The process of appointing a long-term replacement for Potter will be handled by the club’s sporting directors team, before a decision is made by co-owners Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali.
“On behalf of everyone at the club, we would like to sincerely thank Graham for his contribution to Chelsea. We have the highest degree of respect for Graham as a coach and as a person,” they said in a statement.
“He has always conducted himself with professionalism and integrity and we are all disappointed with this result.
“Together with our amazing fans, we will all be rooting for Bruno and the team as we focus on the rest of the season. We have 10 Premier League games left and a Champions League quarter-final ahead.
“We will put all our effort and commitment into each of those games so that we can finish the season on a high.”
Potter signed a five-year deal to replace Thomas Tuchel in September, with Chelsea paying a £20m release clause to lure him away from Brighton.
But he won just seven of his 22 games in all competitions, with a January transfer window outlay of close to £300m failing to spark steady improvement.
Potter won five of their first six games in all competitions, but Chelsea slumped on both sides of the World Cup, notably suffering heavy defeats to Brighton and Manchester City, as well as a home loss to Southampton, threatened by the decline.
The club rallied from a first-leg deficit to beat Borussia Dortmund and reach the Champions League quarter-finals, but despite adding reinforcements in January, including Enzo Fernández, Mykhailo Mudryk and Joao Félix, they have continued to stutter in the Premier League.
Potter had previously insisted he was “not the problem” and suggested he had “probably the toughest job in football” trying to reform a club in transition after the Boehly-Clearlake takeover last May.
He also stated that some players had signaled a challenging pre-season prior to his arrival, but after a 2–0 loss to Tottenham, he said he took “full responsibility” for continued poor form.
He took the blame again after a Villa defeat that was met with boos and said he understood the “pain” of the fans.
Chelsea are next in action against Liverpool on Tuesday.
(Photo: Getty Images)
