Why Graham Potter Has Not Been Sacked – Gary Neville

Gary Neville, a former Manchester United defender, has warned Chelsea manager Graham Potter that the patience of the club’s owners would not last forever before a decisive action to him getting sacked emerges.

Neville said Graham Potter has been able to keep his job up till this moment because the owners want to do the right thing, having sacked Thomas Tuchel to employ him.

Chelsea suffered a shock 1-0 defeat against bottom-of-the-table Southampton on Saturday, with James Ward-Prowse’s free-kick deciding the game at Stamford Bridge. Neville believes Potter is currently under massive pressure, which was made evident by Chelsea fans jeering him during Saturday’s defeat.

In a recent episode of the Gary Neville Podcast, the former Manchester United player said,

“Potter is under massive pressure. You can see it in his face. The boos at the end of the game felt a little ominous. I think they’ll want to do the right thing, the Chelsea owners…”

Neville suggested that the recent investment the club has made under Potter’s reign and the sacking of Tuchel are the reasons the former Brighton boss is still at Stamford Bridge.

Chelsea invested almost £600m in bringing in new players in the last two transfer windows. Neville advised the club’s owners against sacking the coach but added:

“I suspect that nerve is being tested, as any owner would be when you’ve spent that level of money and you’re losing games at home to the (side) bottom of the league.”

Potter has had a mixed start to his Chelsea career, with the club currently sitting in seventh place in the Premier League, seven points adrift of fourth-placed Arsenal.

The defeat against Southampton has piled even more pressure on the former Brighton boss, with fans calling for his head. The defeat was also Chelsea’s fourth home defeat of the season, and they have struggled to get points from their home games.