Potter reveals he has been sent death threats over the club's poor run of form

Chelsea manager Graham Potter made the shocking revelation on Friday that he has been sent death threats, aimed at him and his family.

Potter has come under mounting pressure during his team’s poor run of form but this sinister new development is sure to spark concern throughout the game.

‘As much as I’ve had support, I’ve had some not particularly nice emails come through that want me to die and want my kids to die,’ said Potter, who was supposed to be talking about Sunday's London derby at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. ‘So that’s obviously not pleasant to receive.

‘You have got to take the situation for what it is, take the criticism, but don’t get drawn into stuff that is incorrect. Try to have perspective but at the same time acknowledge the criticism and bad feeling. That’s how it should be.

‘It’s a challenge and if you go to work and somebody is swearing abuse at you it’s not going to be pleasant.’

Chelsea insisted Potter has their full support in the matter.

The gallows-humour approach of Potter to adversity is admirable — even in the face of receiving death threats.

Chelsea’s manager walked into Friday's press conference and said: ‘Sorry I’m late guys, I’ve just come out of a crisis meeting.’ Asked how it went, he answered: ‘Well, I’m still here.’

Yet what this 47-year-old father-of-three divulged is no laughing matter. Instead it is a grisly indictment of how some ‘supporters’ can cross a line, when their team are struggling.

‘The world is tough for everybody,’ said Potter. ‘We are going through an energy crisis, a cost of living crisis, people are striking every other week.'

‘Nobody wants to hear about the poor old Premier League manager. Nevertheless if you ask me, “Is it hard? Is it tough? Is it nice to hear?” as much as I’ve had support, I’ve had some not particularly nice emails that want me to die and want my kids to die. That’s obviously not pleasant to receive.

‘You get upset when you are in private with your family. My job is to act how I think I should act in the best way for the team and the club, and act with integrity.

‘I never want to be anybody else. I don’t want to be fake. I will be me and I will do my best and if my best isn’t good enough, OK, I accept that.’

As 10th-placed Chelsea travel to Tottenham on Sunday, a week after losing at home to Southampton, Potter is aware of what is at stake. ‘If you are referred to as “the worst person in the history of the club”, you can say, “I don’t care”, but everyone does care what people think. I want to succeed here so it’s nonsense this notion that I don’t care.’

Not wanting to end his press conference on such a negative note, Chelsea’s manager tried to raise some smiles from the reporters present, as only he could. In true Potter style, he finished with: ‘You know there’s a problem when the email that has been sent is from potterb*****d@gmail.com.’