Potter praised by ex-Chelsea assistant as ‘you can’t ask for more’ from start

Graham Potter has been praised by former Chelsea assistant manager Jody Morris as “you can’t ask for more” from his first few weeks in charge.

Potter was the man chosen to replace Thomas Tuchel after the Blues endured a tough start to the 2022/23 campaign.

The Englishman was swiftly identified as Chelsea’s first-choice to step in for Tuchel and he was appointed at the start of September.

The ex-Brighton boss has enjoyed a positive start to life at Stamford Bridge. The Blues drew 1-1 against RB Salzburg in his first game in charge.

Since then, Chelsea have beaten AC Milan twice and they have got the better of Crystal Palace and Wolves in the Premier League.

Next up for the Londoners is a trip to Villa Park to face Steven Gerrard’s Aston Villa on Sunday afternoon.

Chelsea currently sit fourth in the Premier League and Potter will be keen for his side to build momentum before the break for the World Cup.

Morris was Chelsea’s assistant manager during Frank Lampard’s spell in charge between 2019 and 2021.

Asked if he had been impressed by Potter’s opening few weeks at Chelsea, Morris told Sky Sports: “Absolutely. First and foremost I was really pleased to see Chelsea appoint an English manager.

“I think you can rule out his first game in charge because it was too soon. Since then, you can’t ask for more.

“Clean sheets were hard to come by before Potter came in but they’re looking more solid now.

“One of the positives is that they’ve played a lot of different players and still performed well. That bodes well for Chelsea’s games after the World Cup and the hectic schedule.”

Morris was later asked about Chelsea centre-back Thiago Silva. He thinks the ex-PSG star has turned out to be a better signing than he thought he would be:

“Absolutely, and that’s taking nothing away from the respect and the admiration I had for him,” he continued.

“I always thought he was a top, top centre-half. But when you have a player in Italy and France you don’t really get to see them close-up and see them day in, day out.

“The fact that I had the opportunity to work with him, I could see the leader he is and to be performing at the levels he’s played at this season is outstanding.

“He’s not only someone who produces top-quality performances himself, but he makes players around him better. He’s a leader and the calmness he brings to the team is outstanding.

“Even when Chelsea were going through bad spells, he was still playing…