5 Tactical Changes Graham Potter Must Make To Save His Job At Chelsea

If the under-fire manager Graham Potter wants to keep his job, the free-spending Blues must make adjustments since they are in terrible shape right now.

According to certain reports, Chelsea’s upcoming home matches against Leeds and Borussia Dortmund will determine Graham Potter’s future as manager.

READ ALSO: Top 5 Coach To Replace Chelsea Boss, Graham Potter

As the Blues lost a rare London derby against Tottenham on Sunday, some media outlets suggested that Potter would lose his job if he can’t turn around his team’s dismal recent performance.

Some media sites, however, stated that Potter continues to have the support of the club’s ownership.

Regardless of the reality, if Chelsea lose to Leeds and/or suffer a Champions League elimination at the hands of Dortmund, the coach’s situation is going to get worse very rapidly.

If Potter wants to keep his reputation intact, he must change immediately.

Here are five tactical changes Chelsea manager could deploy:

Give Aubameyang a go

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang returned to the team on Sunday against his former North London rivals Spurs after spending a few weeks away.

Perhaps it’s an indication that the Gabonese forward, Chelsea’s lone proven Premier League scorer, is moving back into the manager’s forefront of consideration in the team’s frantic need for goals.

Aubameyang has the chance to regain his form against relegation-threatened Leeds at home on Saturday even though he was left off the Champions League roster and will therefore be unable to play against his former team Dortmund.

As long as Kai Havertz and David Fofana aren’t producing the goods and Aubameyang has been as “professional” as Potter insists he has been, he deserves a chance.

Enzo needs support

Since his high-profile departure from Benfica in January, Enzo Fernandez’s class has been evident to everybody.

It is clear that he can’t accomplish everything by himself, so Potter must select from his wide range of choices the Argentine’s best midfield partner.

Conor Gallagher’s performance has been inconsistent at best, and recent evidence suggests that Ruben Loftus-Cheek isn’t up to the challenge.

Chelsea have been boosted by the return from injury of both Mateo Kovacic and Denis Zakaria in recent weeks, and although the midfield might have a defensive look to it, either of them could supplement Enzo nicely in the centre of the park and perhaps allow the World Cup winner to be more adventurous.

Of course, there is another option too…

Tweak the formation & unleash James

Following the World Cup break and Chelsea’s ensuing January spending binge, Potter has primarily used a 4-2-3-1 in place of three defenders at the back.

The formation allows for more of the Blues’ overcrowded attacking ranks, but it hasn’t been effective thus far.

Reece James, a flying wing-back who is perhaps the best player in the world at his position, has been constrained to play a deeper, more conventional right-back position, which contributes to the issue.

After recovering from a knee injury, the England international has lacked his customary lethal threat from the wide areas and has appeared out of sorts.

A return to a back three with wing-backs could revitalize the team and bring James back to his devastating best. There is little doubt that his position is a contributing factor.

With Benoit Badiashile not included in the Champions League roster, Thiago Silva’s unexpected injury creates a challenge for replacement center-backs.

Wesley Fofana, Kalidou Koulibaly, Cesar Azpilicueta, and Trevoh Chalobah all still available to Potter for the crucial second leg against Dortmund on Tuesday at Chelsea Bridge.

Time for Kante?

That’s true, N’Golo Kante has resumed group training and could give Potter’s team a major boost in the closing stretch provided he can stay healthy.

Chelsea doesn’t really need any more fresh additions following their recent hiring binge, but Kante will feel like one more after being injured since mid-August. Not even under Potter has he played.

The Frenchman may be a game-changer for Chelsea in the final three months of the season, assuming he can avoid any further fitness issues. A Kante-Enzo partnership would undoubtedly be tantalizing.

The World Cup winner will play in a few of the Blues’ forthcoming matches in the hopes that his impact will be immediate.

Do some team building!

It was obvious that the new-look squad would take some time to gel after no fewer than EIGHT new players joined in January.

Nonetheless, a handful of Chelsea players continue to appear to be absolutely lost, whether it is due to bad performance or the language barrier. In fact, a large portion of the squad still appears to be complete strangers to one another.

If the squad has a solid connection off the field, it may help the team perform better there as well, therefore Graham Potter needs to, if he hasn’t already, focus on developing it.