Graham Potter told he will be ‘sacked’ by Chelsea if he doesn’t finish in the top four

Joe Williams
Chelsea boss Graham Potter looks along the touchline

Chelsea will sack Graham Potter if they fail to finish in the top four of the Premier League this season, according to former Aston Villa striker Gabby Agbonlahor.

The Blues beat Bournemouth 2-0 on Tuesday night, thanks to goals from Kai Havertz and Mason Mount, with Potter’s men remaining in eighth position but closing the gap on fourth to six points.

It came as welcome relief for Chelsea after losing their last three Premier League matches before the World Cup break with Potter breaking a run of five matches without a win.

But Agbonlahor thinks it is “unacceptable” for Chelsea to be in the position they are in after 15 matches of the season and has been surprised that “they don’t look like finishing in the top six let alone the top four”.

“When I look at that game, I think before you would’ve expected a Chelsea win, and that’s what we got,” Agbonlahor told talkSPORT. “They looked sharp, they looked up for the game.

“But if you said before the game ‘Chelsea are going to win 2-0’ you’d be like ‘yeah that’s about right’.”

Agbonlahor added: “But for Chelsea that was a must win. If you look at the table, they’re 16 points behind Arsenal. That is unacceptable. To be 16 points behind Arsenal.

“If you look at the top four at the moment, they’re six points behind Spurs, Fulham are two points behind them.

“Yesterday was a must win because if they didn’t, they don’t look like finishing in the top six let alone the top four.

“The pressure is on for these teams, because Newcastle aren’t going anywhere, Brighton aren’t going anywhere, to get in the top four this season is a massive achievement for every team besides maybe Manchester City. It’s crazy.”

And Agbonlahor reckons Potter will be “sacked” by Chelsea owner Todd Boehly at the end of the season if they don’t finish in the top four of the Premier League.

“A club like Chelsea, with this owner they’ve got, ‘fifth or sixth?’ it’s not going to happen,” Agbonlahor continued.

“It’s a sackable offence. I feel like you’re getting sacked if you don’t finish in the top four for Chelsea, Graham Potter.”

Havertz thinks it’s a “crucial” set of fixtures coming up for Chelsea as they face Nottingham Forest, Manchester City, Fulham, Crystal Palace and Liverpool in their next five Premier League matches.

“I was delighted to score but the main thing was to get the win and that’s huge for us,” Germany frontman Havertz told the club website.

“The win and the goals will hopefully give us confidence going forward. We lost three before the World Cup break so it was important we got the victory in the first game back, so we are very happy to do this.

“We have to keep winning and this period coming up is going to be crucial for us.

“We are going to give our best in the next games to get on a run and this is a fantastic start for us.”

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