Graham Potter makes major Chelsea decision to learn about new squad

Chelsea's new head coach Graham Potter has made a major choice to help build relationships and improve the mood at Stamford Bridge, according to reports.

The Blues announced last Wednesday that Thomas Tuchel had been relieved of his duties at the west London side.

A 1-0 defeat in the Champions League against Dinamo Zagreb, which was the German's 100th game in charge, saw the decision made.

Spending a club-record amount in the summer transfer window saw the pressure pile on Tuchel and the season started in poor fashion.

Six games into the Premier League campaign and there had already been two embarrassing defeats away from home against both Leeds United and Southampton.

Raheem Sterling watches on as Leeds United celebrate their goal. (Alamy)

Despite the slow start, it still came as a shock to Blues fans to see the back of the head coach who had won them the Champions League nearly a year and a half ago.

It was reported that relationships with the players had grown frosty and that the dressing room had become frustrated.

Tuchel was open to criticising his players in interviews and over time things had fallen apart at Chelsea.

Following his sacking, a quickfire replacement was brought in, Brighton head coach Potter was confirmed as his successor on Thursday afternoon.

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The 47-year-old agreed to a five-year contract with the new owners keen to have him at the helm for the long-term.

Even though the Englishman has only been in the job for a week, there is already a better mood at Chelsea.

As reported by Nizaar Kinsella in the Evening Standard, Potter has made the decision to hold face-to-face meetings with every player before the international break.

The hope from this is to build relationships and Potter is allowing them to have their say.

Chelsea's opening training session at Cobham on Tuesday showed the players in much better spirits with a far more relaxed atmosphere.

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Chelsea players training at Cobham. (Alamy)

Speaking to the in-house media at Chelsea last Friday, Potter spoke was asked about how he would go about understanding the new players.

He said: "I think that you have to understand that they're human beings first, and the key thing is try and understand them, understand what motivates them and understand what they're like as people."

He continued: "From that, try to find some common ground, try to build relationships, to try to communicate effectively on a daily basis and build respect, trust and honesty, so my starting point would always be the person first."

In his opening game as head coach the Blues were held to a 1-1 draw at Stamford Bridge against FC Salzburg in the Champions League.

It was a disappointing result, but now there is time for him to work on improving the squad and implementing his style.