Graham Potter safe with Chelsea board still fully behind him

Chelsea have won just once in their last seven domestic fixtures, with fans singing the name of former head coach Thomas Tuchel during the defeat to Man City

The Chelsea board are not considering removing Graham Potter as manager despite Sunday’s 4-0 FA Cup loss to Manchester City as they retain their belief that he can turn the club’s form around.

There was vocal disapproval from visiting supporters at the Etihad as they lost for the sixth time in nine games in all competitions, with the Blues now out of both cup competitions and trailing by 10 points in the race to qualify for the Champions League.

It is understood that co-owner Todd Boehly has stepped down from his role as interim sporting director to be replaced by director of global talent Paul Winstanley and technical director Christopher Vivell.

Chelsea have won just once in their last seven domestic fixtures, with fans singing the name of former head coach Thomas Tuchel during the defeat to City.

But there currently are no plans to sack Potter and seek a third manager of the season, with the board believing that nothing has changed and that he remains the right man to get the best out of the club’s huge summer transfer outlay.

Boehly, who led the £250million spending spree alongside Tuchel, will now hand over to Winstanley, who joined from Potter’s former club Brighton in November, and Vivell, who arrived from RB Leipzig’s recruitment team in December.

Chelsea’s difficult season has seen their squad decimated by injuries, with 10 first-team players unavailable for Sunday’s game including Raheem Sterling and £75m summer signing Wesley Fofana.

Reece James, Ben Chilwell and N’Golo Kante are also long-term absentees.

The Premier League club made no comment on reports that Portugal international Joao Felix was to join on loan from Atletico Madrid for the rest of the season.