Potter amid Chelsea's January splurge: “Rotation makes everyone happy”
Signing seven players during the January transfer window, the Blues spent more than £250 million as they were responsible for 37 percent of the Premier League's total spending during the window.
With
Enzo Fernandez
becoming Chelsea's record signing with an eye-catching £106.8m fee,
Graham Potteracknowledges his responsibility to make everyone happy by rotating his squad.
After calling Fernandez "a fantastic player", Potter told his press conference:
"I'm excited by the second part of the season we have here, happy the transfer window's closed, and we can move forward and work with the players.
"Of course, there's going to be a few awkward questions, that's the reality of where we are. A few awkward conversations because only 11 can play and only a certain amount can be in squads, so there's always going to be ones that are disappointed.
"It's about being as honest and open and transparent as you can and create an environment where you respect that people want to play, and respect the fact that players want to compete and help the team, but they have to be patient and make sure they're ready to play and perform and help us win."
Already 10 points behind the fourth-placed Manchester United, the
Chelseaboss said on their top-four chances:
"Everybody that's been in this room in the last four months, the word we've always spoken about is pressure, so that's not going to change.
"Clearly, if you spend money, the external noise goes up. I understand that. Spending money is one thing, but you need to be able to align them, make the right decisions and provide a culture, a team, an environment.
"It's not the amount you spend on its own that gets success, it's more than that.
"Challenge is the right word, but I'm certainly not complaining about it. It's exciting. It's a test for me and the staff, but it's an exciting one.
"We've got a lot of really good players and we have to create an environment where there's healthy competition and they can push each other and understand there'll be frustration at times."
Hakim Ziyech
's move to PSG collapsed late on the transfer deadline as Potter claims the Morrocoan will play a key part for the rest of the season.
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