Marc Cucurella insists 'results will arrive' if Chelsea give Graham Potter time

Marc Cucurella has backed Graham Potter to be a success at Chelsea despite his unconvincing start to life at Stamford Bridge.

Potter replaced Thomas Tuchel in the dugout in September, and began his reign with a nine-match unbeaten run.

However, Chelsea lost four of their final five matches before the mid-season break, leaving some questioning whether he is the right man for the job. Cucurella, who played under Potter at Brighton last season, is convinced that the Englishman will turn things around, and has revealed that the players are treating the resumption of the Premier League as a fresh start.

'This is maybe another season. It is really good for us, the last games before the break we didn't play too good or get results but this is a new season,' the defender told The Sun.

'We have to stay together, play good football and win games.'

Chelsea have developed a reputation for sacking managers at regular intervals, and new owner Todd Boehly decided to get rid of Tuchel just four months after taking control of the club.

The pressure appears to be building on Potter, but Cucurella has pointed out that 47-year-old also started slowly at Brighton before thriving on the South Coast, indicating that he deserves to be given time.

'I was really happy at Brighton with him and now he has come here and I think it is good for me and the rest of the team. He is a good coach because his idea of football is attacking.

'All of it is a process. The first season with Graham in Brighton the results were not good, they stayed down in the table.

'They continued with the same ideas, working, working and working. Then, last season and this season they played really good with the same ideas.

'We need to work and understand his ideas and the results will arrive.'

Chelsea have been away in Abu Dhabi while the World Cup has been on, as those not competing in the tournament get into shape ahead of the second half of the season.

Despite Armando Broja suffering a season-ending injury in a friendly with Aston Villa, Cucurella believes the time away has been positive, and has allowed the players to become more familiar with Potter's methods.

'After he arrived, it was difficult training because there are a lot of games,' Cucurella said.

'These weeks gave us time for training to prepare for the second half of the season. It is good training together because you understand the players and your team-mates' movements.

'All the changes are difficult. We have a lot of players to come with a new manager, not a lot of training time because we play a lot of games.

'We need to know his ideas and then play together — these weeks have been very good for us.'