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Chelsea squad left ‘very frustrated’ by Graham Potter sacking, claims Kai Havertz.
Kai Havertz acknowledged that the decision to dismiss Graham Potter after only seven months in charge has left the Chelsea players “extremely unhappy.”
The former Brighton manager was sacked after a string of poor results saw Chelsea plummet into the bottom half of the Premier League league and be eliminated from both domestic cup tournaments.
After Chelsea’s dismal 0-0 stalemate with Liverpool on Tuesday, in which Bruno Saltor played his first 90 minutes as interim manager, Havertz said that he and his teammates must bear some of the blame, and confessed that the managerial merry-go-round is far from over.
“First of all, I have to say it is really nice and we have to respect Bruno and the coaching staff for standing in front of the team when the manager got the sack,” Havertz told Sky Sports, “The club has to respect those guys. But it is not our job to think about who is coming in, it is up to the owners to decide that.
“We have to do our job on the pitch but when you have a manager long-term it is easier for us players. It is not nice, we have to take responsibility for what is going on. We are at the front, everyone sees us. We are all very frustrated to see Graham go but we have to accept the situation.”
Havertz laments Potter’s exit while having a disastrous night in front of goal against Liverpool. As had been evident in previous games, the German struck up a good partnership with January loanee Joao Felix but both lacked a clinical edge in the final third.
The best example of this was when Havertz had a second-half goal disallowed for offside after a VAR review after the striker had first shot straight at Alisson.
The 0-0 draw on Tuesday demonstrated how far both teams have fallen this season. For Chelsea, though, it exposed a vulnerability that cannot be blamed exclusively on Potter and summed up exactly how difficult the challenge awaits whoever comes through the revolving door at Stamford Bridge next.