Former Africa's best player backs Potter, insists Chelsea are approaching 'next level'

Following the recent upturn in the results of Chelsea in the Premier League and the UEFA Champions League, former Nigeria international Victor Ikpeba has called on the club's hierarchy not to sack manager Graham Potter. 

Chelsea were only able to score one league goal in the month of February through Joao Felix but has turned the corner with aggregate win over two legs against Borussia Dortmund in the round of 16 of the Champions League as well as wins over Leeds United and Leicester City in the Premier League. 

Speaking on Monday Night Football broadcast by SuperSport, the 1997 African Footballer of The Year particularly hailed the excellent display against Leicester over the weekend. 

"I think Graham Potter should remain as manager of Chelsea because they have turned the corner. What a relief for the fans. 

"The Chelsea fans have suffered a lot in the past few weeks. The results have been diabolic with the quality of players they have, with the money that they spent, to bring these players to Chelsea. 

"Three technically brilliant goals (against Leicester). We shouldn't forget Kai Havertz's touch from nowhere to score one of goals. It's not easy to score that kind of goal in that situation. 

"It just shows the approach to get to the next level. But bringing these qualities together takes time and I feel the manager needs time. Maybe he needs another season. 

"They (Chelsea) have shown against Leeds and Leicester that the results can get better," the onetime Borussia Dortmund and AS Monaco forward reiterated. 

Ikpeba further stated that winning galvanizes a team and the mentality of the players which is indicative of the Blues' recent matches. 

"Winning games changes mentality and when you win three games in a row, you are on another level. The players are more relaxed, they can train harder on their sessions. 

However Ikpeba hopes that the winning streak continues for the west London side who have some Premier League matches to negotiate as they aim for an improbable European qualification. 

"They have tricky fixtures coming up against Aston Villa, Liverpool, Wolves and Brighton. Chelsea have shown that if they continued with what they showed against Leicester that they can beat Everton, they can beat Villa, who sometimes are unpredictable," the former Nigerian international added. 

Curiously, in a previous edition of Monday Night Football, Ikpeba stated that the Chelsea job somewhat came rather too early for the former Brighton manager Potter, as the team went through a bad run of games. 

Izuchukwu Michael
 

Photo Credit : chelseafc.com

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