Chelsea ‘held a crisis meeting with Graham Potter’ after dismal loss to Southampton

Chelsea reportedly held a crisis meeting to address their turbulent season this week – with technical director Christopher Vivell leading the talks with under-fire Graham Potter and his staff. 

Potter has found himself under huge scrutiny at Stamford Bridge after their 1-0 home loss to Southampton – with fans growing restless and some calling for the former Brighton boss to be sacked after five months in the job. 

He has guided the team to just one win all calendar year and the Blues are struggling in mid-table despite laying out £600million on player across both summer and winter transfer windows. 

Now the club are said to be accelerating effort to remedy the problems in the squad, with Vivell summoning Potter and his staff to a crisis meeting to address the shortcomings in the team and find a way to improve morale. 

The report in the Evening Standard claims the summit at the club’s Cobham training complex was described as a ‘strategy meeting’, with directors Paul Winstanley and Laurence Stewart also involved.

Chelsea reportedly held a crisis meeting with Graham Potter (L) – led by director Christopher Vivell (R) after their dismal run of form 

The struggling Blues have now won just two games in 14 under Potter this season

Potter, Vivell, staff and other directors all put on a ‘united front’ as they sat down to discuss the issues facing the team, it goes on, with the meeting aimed at finding ways to lift the squad.

Owners Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali did not attend the meeting, it says. 

Vivell was appointed by Chelsea in December following a stint at RB Leipzig and has been key to an overhaul of the club alongside Winstanley and Stewart. 

Potter faced boos from the Chelsea fans after their dismal defeat to the Saints last week, with the basement boys pulling off a stunning win despite being managerless.

Sportsmail reported this week that the club’s owners are sticking by their coach despite calls for him to be axed, with Chelsea looking to Arsenal’s example of keeping faith with Mikel Arteta. 

Owners Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali were not understood to be present in the meeting

There is a sense that Potter should be allowed time to enforce his own principles on their expensively assembled squad, in the same way Arteta was backed, before he should be judged.

Chelsea’s American owners have invested significantly into Potter’s vision for the club, recruiting a number of administrative and recruitment staff from Brighton who are aligned with their current head coach’s way of thinking.

The prospect of dismissing Potter now would raise serious questions over those backroom appointments just months into their restructuring.

However, the club’s loyalty to Potter could come into question should the team’s run of poor results continue – and the coach has a huge upcoming game against Tottenham that could define his tenure. 

Potter – who gave his side a scheduled two days off after the defeat to Southampton – now has four days to prepare for the pivotal game against their rivals, knowing victory could kick-start their season.