Paul Merson believes there ‘may not be a way back’ for Graham Potter if Chelsea lose to rivals Tottenham on Sunday.
Chelsea travel to north London off the back of a terrible run of form, where they have won just two of their last 15 game across all competitions, scoring just six goals.
Blues fans have been infuriated all season, but their dislike for Potter reached new heights in their last game when Chelsea were beaten 1-0 at home to bottom of the league Southampton.
This lead to loud boos at full-time with the result leaving the club in 10th place, 11 points off the top four, with the chances of them qualifying for any European competition now looking more unlikely.
While the Chelsea board are (for now) backing their manager to come good, the pressure on Potter is astronomical especially after their record breaking spending spree this season.
And while Merson believes he should be given more time, he reckons the Spurs clash could make or break him, telling Sky Sports: ‘He [Potter] has just been beaten at home by bottom of the league and he’s still there so maybe they will stick by him.
‘This Sunday is Chelsea’s biggest game of the season – it’s Tottenham. If he loses this one I’m not sure there is a way back because the fans will go ballistic.
‘This game can change everything though – if Chelsea beat Spurs he can also be a hero. People think Potter isn’t the right man for the job, but I think he is. For me, I think give him time.’
Merson believes the players must take a fair shame of the blame, with the Arsenal legend confused as to why some of them were signed in the first place, adding: ‘I like him as a manager but I look at the quality of the players and I question it.
‘They brought Mykhailo Mudryk for £88m and, bar a cameo of 20 minutes, he’s shown nothing. I mean nothing. You wouldn’t expect to need time to settle in at that price.
‘The forward-thinking players are no better than the ones they’ve already got so what’s the point? You can’t tell me that Noni Madueke is a better player than Raheem Sterling or Christian Pulisic. He’s not.
‘Why are you buying a load of players that aren’t better than what you’ve got? None of them improve the team bar Enzo Fernandez and the centre-half [Benoit Badiashile].
‘I’m not sure these are his [Potter’s] players, that’s the major problem. I can’t imagine in my wildest dreams these are his players. A lot of the players at Chelsea are the same, but no better than what was there before.’
MORE : Arsenal star Folarin Balogun urged to switch international allegiance from England to USA
MORE : Chelsea hold emergency meeting with head coach Graham Potter
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