It is believed that Graham Potter has taken a difficult job at Chelsea but Paul Merson insists the former Brighton manager’s impact will be felt next season.
Football expert Paul Merson believes that Chelsea manager Graham Potter needs time to implement his work with the London club.
The former Brighton manager, Potter replaced Thomas Tuchel at Stamford bridge following series of poor result.
Potter’s work at Brighton didn’t go unnoticed as his impact on the Seagulls made him the best candidate for Chelsea’s job.
However, despite his tactical success with Brighton Paul Merson believes it will take much time for the Blues players to adapt to Potter’s philosophy.
“There was nothing between both teams at Palace”, Merson said of the Chelsea victory over Crystal Palace on Saturday.
“I think that tells you everything at the moment. It’s going to take time. There was no fluency, it was scrappy, but he’s going to need time to work on the team.
“There is no time, though – before you know it, they’ve got AC Milan and they’ve got to win that or they’ll be right up against it to qualify.”
He added that it will be until next season before the impact of the former Brighton manager will be felt in the team due to the busy schedule.
“It’s going to be hard for him to get his stamp on the team until next season because of the way the league is, and the World Cup in the middle, it’s game after game and these are all games they have to win, it’s not like Brighton.
“The other week and all the games that were cancelled, they said there was a gap in April – that just tells you everything about where we are.
“The way Potter had Brighton playing, that was hard work, it wasn’t just telling them to go on the pitch and play. They were playing like top-drawer players.”
He also stated some of the problems Potter will face with some of the players this season.
“It doesn’t shock me that Koulibaly was on the bench again at Palace. But he’s always going to have a problem compared to at Brighton, he’s got to keep 11 top-drawer players happy when they’re not playing.
“They’ve got World Cups coming up, they want to be in those squads, and they came to Chelsea to play football.
“I didn’t think Aubameyang brought too much to the table apart from the goal, but it was a really good, good goal, and that’s what he does offer you. He knows where the goal is, he swivels and puts it in the corner and it’s a proper finish.”
