Chelsea head coach Graham Potter reveals in an interview that he and his family have received grim abuse as well as death threats.
Graham Potter made the sad admission, however, he insists that it has not affected him and that he is determined to improve the club’s results.
After last Saturday’s 1-0 defeat at home to Southampton, who are the Premier League’s bottom side, Potter is feeling pressure at Stamford Bridge.
His team currently sit 10th in the league and has won only twice in their last 14 matches. They have also not scored a goal at home since 2023.
The Back Pages Tonight panel discuss Graham Potter and his family receiving death threats. pic.twitter.com/lo21PQYtKr
— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) February 24, 2023
The 47-year-old revealed on Friday during his press conference he had been the subject of email attacks, saying: “As much as I’ve had support I’ve had some not very nice emails that have come through that want me to die and want my kids to die, so obviously that’s not pleasant to receive.
“The challenge for me is, ‘OK, how do I conduct myself?’ That’s what I always turn round to. The higher you go, the more pressure you have on how you are as a person. I want to succeed here. There is this nonsense that I don’t care. Where does that come from? Where’s your evidence on that?
“If you go to work and somebody’s swearing abuse at you, it’s not going to be pleasant. You can answer it two ways. I could say I don’t care, but you know I’m lying. Everyone cares what people think, because we’re hardwired to be socially connected.
“Ask my family how life has been for me and for them. It’s been not pleasant at all. I understand supporters go home and they’re annoyed because the team aren’t winning but, I assure you, my life for the last three, four months has been fairly average, apart from the fact I’m really grateful for this experience.”
🚨 Graham Potter on Mirror front page: “Fans told me they want me and my kids to die”. #CFC
“You need to be very careful”, he added. Mirror reporting that “Potter has had vile emails from sick ‘supporters’”. pic.twitter.com/fXDdgD2aJm
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) February 24, 2023
Speaking more on the death threats ahead of Sunday’s fixture at Tottenham, he told Sky Sports’ Geoff Shreeves: “You just have to put it aside, and thankfully it’s an isolated incident and it could come from anywhere. It’s just one of those things.
Questioned whether it has rocked him, he replied: “Not really. It’s just a throwaway line, I think. I don’t give it any more weight than that.
“It’s not pleasant and it’s not pleasant for the family. You accept the criticism, you accept to be booed if you lose a game, you accept whatever comes your way absolutely.
“Of course there’s a line but I wouldn’t be the first person in life where the line’s been crossed and maybe in this instance it has been crossed.”
In his five months in charge of the Blues, Potter has been criticised for being laid-back while also having a perceived lack of passion on the sidelines.
Asked whether he is unhappy with the assumption that he does not care and lacks anger, he said: “Yes I am, but at the same time I also know that people have an opinion based on what they see, and what they see is a very small portion of me, my personality, of how I act and of how I’ve got to this point.
“If people think you can just go from the ninth tier of English football via the fourth tier of Swedish football and climb your way up the pyramid and end up here with uncaring, unpassionate and unemotional personality then maybe they should try it themselves and see how they get on.”
Asked if he ever loses his temper and gets stuck into players if needed, he responded: “Yes, but I do it in a way that I think is respectful to them and at the right time.
“Anyone can get angry but it’s about getting angry at the right time, in the right place, with the right person. I think you’ve got to do what’s right for the team and the club.
“The anger’s there. The feeling’s there. If I was a bit egotistic and a bit selfish, maybe it would come out a bit more. But I think that actually part of the job is to put yourself second and to think about the team and the club, and that’s what I’ve done in all of my jobs and it’s served me well.
“You can criticise that but I’ve come from a place where I know where I’ve started, I know where I am now, I know the teams and people that I’ve worked with.
“We could do a little montage of people that would probably provide me with a good decent reference from my work that I’ve done and they’ll also say that I’m not as I’m perceived.
“People are perceived a certain way and that’s fine, no problem.”
Twitter users reacted as Graham Potter reveals he and his family have received grim abuse as well as death threats…
@mgtd76: It’s a game. I’ve never understood hooliganism at football and I don’t understand stuff like this.
@MJLbirder: Sadly he chose the wrong club in Chelsea. He’s clearly a manager who likes to build teams and not just go out and spend vast amounts on players. Perhaps he’d have been better suited to Spurs? I hope he gets given the time and support he deserves.
@ellisp81: Just wrong isn’t it. Some really poorly educated and poorly balanced people out there.
@MattS_121098: Chelsea in a nutshell
@chelslou81: Disgusting no one deserves this
@JayTMLNS: Death threats because we’ve lost some games of football. Disgusting behavior
@Gemma_Manns: As fans we can criticise, line ups, tactics & results but seriously… WHAT THE FU@k IS WRONG WITH PEOPLE! This vileness continue 2 tarnish the fanbase,the threats & abuse we see on this platform at manager & players is not a joke! They need to be identified and banned permanently
@Wintermelowns: I hate our fanbase
@PatrickJamesAH9: Anyone telling Potter you want him and his kids to die, you are nothing more than spineless cowards. There are some really pathetic people out there. #CFC
@flameosumeet: Worst set of fans in the league, disgusting that he’s had to go through this
@AnnaLauraWelsh: I hope that Graham knows the majority of the #Chelsea fan base are not like this. Those of us who are the real fans are sending him and his his family support. 💙💙💙
@dwhitt9: Absolutely disgusting & cowardly, but not surprising & in-line with how Twitter is. Media need to look at themselves also. They got too used to the old regime’s hire & fire attitude, so their automatic response is to call for GP’s dismissal, & stir the pot, on a regular basis.
@Sid_footyF1: Chelsea fanbase is sick and the ones who sent death threats to Potter and his family are despicable tw*ts!! I am so done with Chelsea twitter.
@ScottyMillsy93: This is sad. Disgraceful to whoever sent these by the way. Sick people in this world.
@Shanefisher993: Don’t care what people’s opinion of him are. But don’t do this!
You must be logged in to post a comment Login