‘It was positive’ – Under-fire Chelsea boss Graham Potter says ‘lots of good things’ in Blues’ defeat to Aston Villa

Chelsea coach Graham Potter is under mounting pressure after another disappointing result, but he’s intent on remaining positive.

Facing the press following the 2-0 home defeat to Aston Villa on Saturday evening, Potter was upbeat.

He said: “There were a lot of good things in the game, a lot of attacking play, entries and a lot of shots. If you look at the stats, it was positive.”

The ex-Brighton boss doubled down on his position, saying “there were certainly positives for us.”

Despite Potter’s positivity, patience for his misfiring team appears to be wearing thin among the supporters.

Asked about the fans’ expressions of frustrations, Potter empathised.

He said: “I understand when you lose at home that people will be frustrated, disappointed and angry. No one is happy with where we are in the league table and we have to work hard to improve that. ‘It’s an emotional game and I can certainly understand the frustrations after a home defeat.’’

Potter was looking forward to the Blues’ next match, a home fixture against fellow misfiring side Liverpool in mid-week.

He said: “We have to respond now, and we have a fantastic game on Tuesday night [against Liverpool] to put it right.”

Potter was appointed as the head coach of Chelsea on a five-year deal in September 2022. He drew his first game and won his second, but suffered his first loss in his tenth game.

After the Blues’ exit in the third round of the FA Cup, Potter faced intense scrutiny from fans and media due to poor results and performances. Following a home defeat to bottom-of-the-table Southampton, some Chelsea fans called for Potter’s resignation.

The latest home defeat has served only to reinforce those feelings of frustration and it likely did not help that former Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel was leading new club Bayern Munich to an impressive thrashing of Borussia Dortmund at the same time as the Blues were losing to Villa.

The Blues are currently on course for their worst league finish since 1996. Having spent over £500M on new players this season, it is inevitable that owner Todd Boehly will be feeling underwhelmed.