‘Now you’re 14th’, Fabregas takes swipe at Chelsea over panic sacking of Potter

Former Chelsea midfielder Cesc Fabregas has slammed the London club over their decision to fire Graham Potter less than seven months into the job.

The Spaniard, however, ‘hopes’ new manager Mauricio Pochettino can turn the club’s fortunes around.

Potter, who was doing very well at Brighton, was appointed by the Blues’ owners to replace Thomas Tuchel at the start of the season.

The Blues started well under Potter but results and performances soon fell away leading to the sack of the 47-year-old in April. Potter won just 12 of his 31 games in charge of the Blues, who had dropped into the bottom-half of the Premier League during his tenure.

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Fabregas accused the Stamford Bridge owners of ‘panicking’, over the sacking of the Englishman.

“I understand that the top, top teams nowadays panic very quickly,” Fabregas – who spent five years at Chelsea – told The Athletic.

“Like Chelsea, you are eighth and you make a change and now you are 14th. A panic change does not always guarantee you that you’ll get better.

“Sometimes it does, sometimes not. But if you really believe, I believed in (former Chelsea manager Graham) Potter.

“I know the results weren’t great but if you believe in him the way you say you believed in him… they had given him a five-year contract. Maybe give him some time. It’s proven with other coaches that it worked.”