Chelsea manager Graham Potter acknowledged he can no longer count on the support of the club’s board for much longer after a 2-0 defeat on Sunday at Tottenham Hotspur added even more pressure. Goals from Oliver Skipp and Harry Kane consolidated Spurs’ place in the Premier League’s top four as they opened a four-point lead over fifth-placed Newcastle, although the Magpies still have two games left.
Chelsea remain 10th and their chances of Champions League football next season now appear to depend on an unlikely run to win the European Cup for a third time.
Despite spending more than £163.5 billion ($600 million) on new players this season, the Potter men have now won just two wins in 15 games across all competitions.
“I know the responsibility,” Potter said. “(The results) are not good enough for this club. I am not happy with it. I take full responsibility for those results.”
Chelsea’s new owners have so far remained steadfast in their support of Potter.
But patience must run out and Blues chairman and co-owner Todd Boehly was on hand to watch another toothless performance from his club at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
“If the results aren’t good enough, which they aren’t at the moment, you can’t count on support forever,” Potter added.
“My job is to keep going, to try to change the moment. The players are hurting. It’s a difficult moment for us.”
Chelsea have scored just one goal in their last six games and haven’t shown much of a fight for their beleaguered boss after falling behind just seconds into the second half.
Neither side got up to speed in a bad-tempered first period, which the visitors fortunately ended with 11 men.
After consulting with his assistant, referee Stuart Attwell showed Hakim Ziyech a straight red card for shoving Emerson Royal in the face.
However, Attwell reversed the decision after seeing the incident on the fieldside monitor.
Chelsea did not benefit from that swipe, as they fell behind just 19 seconds after the break.
Kepa Arrizabalaga saved Emerson’s initial effort, but the Spanish goalkeeper should have done better than firing in Skipp’s shot from under the crossbar for his first Spurs goal.
Tottenham Hotspur were once again without their manager Antonio Conte as the former Chelsea boss recovers from emergency surgery to remove his gallbladder, but Spurs have a 100 per cent record with his assistant Cristian Stellini in charge.
“Our desire was to win, play a great game and fight for every ball,” said Stellini, who added he expects Conte to return to London this week.
“We are happy for the fans, the club and of course for us and Antonio, who is still at home.”
Kane secured his side’s first victory over Chelsea in nine attempts as the England captain secured Eric Dier’s shot from Son Heung-min’s corner eight minutes from the end.
(This story has not been edited by DailyExpertNews staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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