Graham Potter lost his respect Chelsea squad – one of the main factors behind his dismissal, according to reports.
Potter was shockingly fired on Sunday nightless than seven months after joining Chelsea from Brighton, following a 2-0 defeat to Aston Villa on Saturday, that leaves the Blues in the bottom half of the table.
The results simply weren’t good enough as the England manager won just 12 of his 31 games at Stamford Bridge.
Several factors have been suggested as to why the decision to leave has now been made, despite Todd Boehly and the board previously planning to support Potter through thick and thin.
One of the most glaring is that the 47-year-old failed to command the respect of his large group of players, with huge spending in January not helping.
Having spent more than £600 million over the course of the season, the Chelsea side was bursting at the seams, with Potter publicly complaining about how difficult it was to work effectively with his players on the training ground.
Likewise the Evening Standard now report that while there was no mutiny against the manager, players were not inspired by Potter and his methods and team selections, with several of the older stars frustrated that new recruits were being picked despite their form.
In addition, they had “unflattering nicknames” for their boss, which mostly revolved around Harry Potter with more than a few references to Quidditch.
The Independent adds that much of the team – both new and old – simply had no respect for a man who had never functioned at an elite level before.
Perhaps most notably of all, many Chelsea players had to look up who Potter had previously heard little to nothing about.
However, they will more than likely have heard of Julian Nagelsmann, with the former Bayern Munich boss an early front-runner taking over in West London.
The 35-year-old is said to be interested in the job but is in no rush to return to management so soon as the decision on his future is likely to be made in the summer.
In the meantime, Bruno Saltor will take charge of the team for Tuesday night’s home game against Liverpool.
MORE : Mauricio Pochettino’s stance on replacing Graham Potter as Chelsea manager
MORE : How ‘worried’ Chelsea players reacted to Graham Potter’s sacking
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