Manchester United legend Rio Ferdinand has leapt to the defence of under-pressure Chelsea manager Graham Potter amid calls for him to be sacked.

Chelsea’s 1-0 defeat at home to Southampton on Saturday means the Blues have won just two of our last 14 matches having scored a meagre four goals in the Premier League in 2023. 

“I would go as far to say that Graham Potter has one of the hardest jobs in the league,” Ferdinand told his Vibe with Five show.

“Because what he has been given – it is weird to say that, because he’s [been given] crazy amounts of talent.

“[But] he’s a new manager, he’s never dealt with players of that stature, and those egos, and having to manage that.

“So every week, just imagine this, he’s going in, yes he’s got great players at his disposal and they’re not a team, he’s got to formulate a team, and disappoint between 11 to 15 players.

“All players think they should play, that is one of the hardest conversations. You speak to any manager, one of the hardest conversations for any manager is to tell a player you’re not playing this week. How do you pick those players back up again? It’s hard.

“What I’m saying is that it’s one element of how difficult it is: man management of people.”

Asked why Chelsea hadn’t yet sacked him, amid claims that previous owner Roman Abramovich would have parted company with Potter at least twice over by now, Ferdinand said the new regime were trying to do it their way.

“I think they’re doing it their way and only time will tell whether they are what they say they’re about. Can they withstand the pressure from outside influences like the media and fans?”

Ferdinand also claimed Potter’s job was just as tough to that of a manager at the bottom end of the league – just in a different manner.  

“It’s tough in equal ways, just at different ends of the spectrum,” Ferdinand said. “He walked into a group that was already formulated before he got there, all new signings… He didn’t walk into a club that was settled.

“He walked in after a guy had spent £100s of millions on new players coming into that squad. Normally you go into a club and the players are quite settled.

“Then you’ve got a sprinkling of new players. He had nine or ten players that were new to the squad when he arrived, then signs another nine or ten new players. I’m saying don’t look at this as, ‘oh he’s spending money it’s an easy job’.

“There’s a lot of things – even though he’s getting money – that are going against him. It’s hard. [It’s a] hard job. It’s a hard job at the best of times.”