Chelsea form almost ruined my holiday, says Potter

Graham Potter has revealed Chelsea's poor form prior to the World Cup almost ruined his holiday, but he now feels 'even more confident' than before.

Chelsea lost four out of their last five matches before the World Cup, which included three consecutive Premier League defeats and a loss to Manchester City in the Carabao Cup.

That poor form made manager Potter anxious during his World Cup break holiday to California, but he thanked the club's ownership for backing him and making him believe in the project 'even more' after a meeting in the US with co-owner Behdad Eghbali.

Speaking to reporters, Potter said: "I would rather have gone on holiday with a couple of wins behind me, because I probably would have been better company for my poor wife.

As it was, I'm staring into the Pacific Ocean, and she's thinking about what a wonderful time we're having, and I'm thinking about Chelsea Football Club.

"But thankfully she's been with me long enough to know that that's how it is, and then you have to use the pain, the frustration, the disappointment of the last few weeks to say 'OK, how can we go forward?'

And then, like anything, a bit of distance gives you that time, a bit of perspective, and then it's about how you can start the process of integrating all the players back and taking the learning of that time and saying 'OK, we need to show some direction here'."

He added: "When I was over in California I met with Behdad, so that was good, we had a good chat with him and there's fantastic support. So I'm really looking forward to the weeks, months and years ahead.

"I'm even more confident, even more, aware of the support I have now than I was three months ago when I took the job. So that tells you something. It's a credit to them and their support and how they have communicated with me – it's been fantastic. We all know the pressure and the demands at this club but we have also got enough people who can see the perspective and where we are at to be able to say, 'this is where we are, how can we improve?"