Graham Potter has revealed that during his time at Chelsea, the club’s overabundance of new signings forced some players to “sit on the floor” due to a lack of space.
In his first major interview since leaving the club in April 2023, Potter admitted that although he tried to support Chelsea’s aggressive transfer policy, managing the large squad became a significant challenge.
The January transfer window saw Chelsea sign eight new players, adding to an already bloated roster.
This influx left some players without proper seating during team meetings at the club’s training ground.
Despite Chelsea’s record financial investment to bring Potter and his coaching team on board in August 2022, he was sacked just months into his five-year contract.
The 49-year-old has since remained out of work, choosing to keep a low profile while reportedly turning down several job offers.
Chelsea’s chaotic transfer strategy persisted even after Potter’s departure, with the club signing over 20 players in the past 18 months.
“We tried to support [Chelsea’s transfer business] as best we could, but it left us with a challenge of a lot of players after January and then they can’t go anywhere,” Potter told The Telegraph.
“A few of them just had to sit on the floor.
“It’s not ideal, of course. Everybody recognised it was a really difficult situation because you can only pick 11 players and if you’ve got 20 players not playing, it doesn’t matter where you are.
“If you can find a coach out there who says: ‘Yeah, that’s the best condition for me,’ I’d be very surprised.”
Potter has revealed that he has been ready to return to management “for a while,” after turning down multiple job offers in his search for the right opportunity.
However, the former Brighton manager admitted that he is more inclined to take on a club role rather than managing a national team, despite being considered a frontrunner for the England job.
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