Chelsea are set to bring in Thomas Tuchel to replace his successor Graham Potter.
That’s the view of talkSPORT’s Jamie O’Hara, who thinks it’s time for the Blues to say goodbye to Potter after his disappointing spell at Stamford Bridge.
The west London side lost 1-0 at home to Premier League bottom side Southampton on Saturday, Chelsea offering little in a game as the managerless Saints doubled the league.
Since leaving Brighton in September, the England manager has managed one win in 10 and three in 15, leaving Chelsea in 10th place – a worse run than any manager overseen in the Roman Abramovich era, dating back to 1995 .
But while former Tottenham player O’Hara thinks Potter is a good manager and wants him to succeed, he believes Chelsea need to cut their losses now and reinstate their former boss.
Asked by Breakfast co-host Stuart Pearce what the Blues should do next, O’Hara said: “Two things I would do, one, I would give [Potter] an ultimatum and say “you have three games, settle that”.
“You have to be more into it on the fringe, I know it might not be Graham Potter but his interviews are too much like ‘yeah it’s ok, we do this, we do that’.
“He needs more fire in his belly. Now whether he has that or not, I don’t know – I know Stuart has it and I know he can be calm and relaxed, but I had Stuart as my manager and let me tell you, he scared the life out of me when we lost.
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“I don’t know if Graham Potter scares these players, I don’t know if they’re scared of him. If they lose they’re probably thinking ‘oh he’s not going to lose his rag’. You need a manager who intimidates the players and for whom they work hard.
He continued: “If the results don’t change I would get rid of him now, before it’s too late, saying ‘well it didn’t work’. You’ve seen QPR fire managers, Southampton fire managers, why can’t Chelsea fire a manager?
“And because it’s Graham Potter and they brought him here?” You have to fire him if it doesn’t work, get rid of him! It’s the Premier League, he’ll go find another job, he’s a top manager. It doesn’t work, get someone else in.
“Go get [Mauricio Pochettino]go get Tuchel back!
Tuchel left Chelsea with a record of 60 wins, 24 draws and 16 losses in 100 games with a winning percentage of 60% – the fourth highest win rate by a Chelsea manager who has managed at least 100 games.
The German also led the club to a Champions League, UEFA Super Cup, FIFA Club World Cup and became the best club manager in the world in 2021.
However, he was then sacked in September after losing 1-0 to Dinamo Zagreb in the Champions League.
But whether Tuchel is destined for a return to Chelsea or not, talkSPORT understands club owner Todd Boehly thinks Potter is on thin ice.
Ironically, Chelsea will face Tuchel’s former side Borussia Dortmund in the second leg of the Champions League Round of 16 next week, and the outcome of that game may well decide Potter’s future.
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