-
Bruno Saltor reacts to ‘difficult’ Graham Potter departure from Chelsea.
Interim Chelsea manager Bruno Saltor has confessed that Graham Potter’s departure has been difficult for everyone at the club.
After a lacklustre 2-0 loss to Aston Villa sent the Blues into the bottom half of the Premier League standings with only 10 games remaining, Potter was fired on Sunday. Bruno, the former Brighton right-back who accompanied Potter to Stamford Bridge, is now in charge of the team.
There was little time for Bruno to get to grips with the role as his first day on the job involved a pre-match press conference ahead of a visit from Liverpool on Tuesday, in which the events of the previous 24 hours understandably took centre stage.
“I spoke to Graham five minutes ago and he sent his regards to all of you,” Bruno told the media. “It has been a difficult 24 hours for all the staff, the families and now we have to deal with the situation.
“It’s a sad day for the staff because Graham and Billy [Reid, Potter’s assistant] are two top coaches, top people and I have to be as professional as I can to prepare for the game as best we can.
“It’s been difficult at every single level. You have to deal with the press conference, the players, the relationship with Graham and Billy, how it effects their family. A really difficult 12 hours.”
Bruno continued by saying that although he had previously spoken with the club’s owners to discuss his situation, he had not yet spoken to any Chelsea players regarding Potter’s departure.
“I’ve not seen the players yet, we have an afternoon session planned,” he continued. “We are all responsible and need to keep focused on tomorrow’s game.
“They will be sad because they know the level of human being Graham is.
“I’ve spoken to [the owners], they have been supportive. I am focused on tomorrow’s game. If I am here right now, it’s because Graham and the club thought it was the right step.”