“Stunned” Chelsea players reportedly learned of Graham Potter’s sacking from Stamford Bridge in brutal fashion and did not receive “prior notice of what was to come.”
Potter’s disappointing run at Chelsea came to an end on Sunday after the Premier League club confirmed that he had been axed less than seven months into his spell.
The former Brighton boss took charge of his last Chelsea match on Saturday, as the Blues suffered a devastating 2-0 defeat to Aston Villa at Stamford Bridge.
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Potter, who replaced Bayern Munich manager Thomas Tuchel at Chelsea last September, left Stamford Bridge with the Blues sat in 11th place in the league table.
The 47-year-old’s assistant coach at Chelsea, Bruno Saltor, will take charge of the Blues as interim head coach until a new manager succeeds Potter permanently.
According to The Daily Telegraph, Chelsea players only found out about Potter’s dismissal when the club released their official statement at 8pm on Sunday.
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The newspaper added that the ‘worried’ Blues players reached out to their ‘representatives on Sunday night’ after learning of Potter’s sacking.
It is believed that a ‘majority of the squad’ did not receive ‘any prior notice of what was to come’ at the club.
According to reports, Chelsea footballers learned of the news ‘via social media and the statement being forwarded around the players.’
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“Most of the players had no idea until they saw the statement,” an unnamed source told the Telegraph.
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“People were asking who would be taking training on Monday and who is in charge for Tuesday.
“Virtually all of them were in recovery or training on Sunday, so they were shocked to find this out at home.”
Following the sacking of Potter, Chelsea co-owners Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali said in a statement: “On behalf of everyone at the club, we want to thank Graham sincerely for his contribution to Chelsea.
“We have the highest degree of respect for Graham as a coach and as a person.
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“He has always conducted himself with professionalism and integrity and we are all disappointed in this outcome.
“Along with our incredible fans, we will all be getting behind Bruno and the team as we focus on the rest of the season.
“We have 10 Premier League games remaining and a Champions League quarter-final ahead.
“We will put every effort and commitment into every one of those games so that we can end the season on a high.”
Featured Image Credit: AlamyTopics: Graham Potter, Chelsea, Premier League, England, Football