Chelsea boss Graham Potter says he expected scrutiny after leaving Brighton for Stamford Bridge

Graham Potter insists he expected to come under scrutiny at some stage at Chelsea as he undergoes his ‘process’ to improve the team.

The Blues have failed to win any of their last four Premier League matches and to make matters even worse have only managed to score twice in that run of games.

They have slipped down to seventh in the league table after a miserable run of form, but Potter refuses to panic, with the former Brighton boss admitting it has been a tricky run of game with injuries mounting up.

Chelsea boss Graham Potter insisted that he expected to come under scrutiny at some stage

Chelsea have failed to win any of their last four Premier League fixtures, leaving them seventh

Chelsea have seen a number of key players including Reece James, Ben Chilwell, Wesley Fofana, N’Golo Kante, Mateo Kovacic all sidelined for lengthy periods in a busy period of matches, including mid-week Champions League fixtures.

‘I’d be lying if I said I didn’t expect it at some point. I think we’ve had a six week period where we’ve played 13 matches, eight away, it has a toll on everything,’ Potter told the media at his pre-match press conference.

‘Injuries to key players. It’s a process, I’ve been through it at Brighton. I don’t think you can every predict in football and when we got results, I was honest enough to say we needed to improve. 

‘We can improve a lot, that’s exciting, that’s the job.’

The Blues have suffered injuries to key players such as left-back Ben Chilwell (pictured)

Defender Reece James (pictured) was also sidelined for a lengthy period of time through injury

Chelsea suffered a disappointing 1-0 defeat to London rivals in the Premier League on Sunday at Stamford Bridge. 

The former Brighton and Swansea boss has insisted that the result has not affected his decisions on his squad selection for their third round Carabao Cup tie with Manchester City. 

‘That would be reactionary. You’ve got to look at the game at the weekend, result and performance disappointing. Intention for that is clear for us all. 

‘We use this game as the next step, learn more about the squad, more about the process. There’s no shortcuts. 

‘You have to suffer as I’ve said. You find out more about people, more about the team.’

One player struggling to find his best form under Potter is England star Raheem Sterling, who has scored just five times so far this season for the Blues.

The bigger question perhaps is that he has been utilised in so many different positions, including at wing-back rather than in a more attacking role.

Raheem Sterling (pictured) continues to struggle under new Chelsea boss Graham Potter

Potter, however, played down Sterling’s lack of good form this season as he insists all players go through rough spells in their careers. 

Potter added: ‘I think you can tell by his reaction, he’s honest. Players go through moments in their career that aren’t positive and others where everything they touch is gold. 

‘The team isn’t functioning as well as I would like. We need to improve the team and improve the structures.’