Graham Potter admits he’d have been naive to not expect scrutiny at some point after joining Chelsea, but insists his side will be ready to bounce back from their Arsenal defeat against Man City on Wednesday night.
Chelsea travel to the Etihad Stadium to face Man City in the Carabao Cup third round, but do so having lost two of their last three games.
Potter has come under criticism following the two defeats, but it is something he accepts will happen when you take a job at a club like Chelsea.
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"I'd be lying if I didn't expect it at some point when you take this job and challenge on,” said the 47-year-old in his pre-match press conference.
“Of course there will be times when it isn't a pleasant road. You have to take and accept that.
"When results were good, I was honest enough to say we still have things to improve.
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“Performance wise we can improve a lot. It's exciting, but that's the challenge."
Man City are in buoyant mood after Erling Haaland netted a stoppage time penalty on Saturday to seal a 2-1 win over Fulham in the Premier League.
Although Pep Guardiola has yet to decide on his team for the cup tie, Potter knows they will be competitive and Chelsea will have to match the current Premier League champions to stand a chance of progressing into the fourth round.
He added: "We have to go to Man City and be competitive because they will be, to win the game, be as strong as we can.
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"We will do our best, prepare the team. We have to go to try to win the game."
Potter never expected it to be an easy ride at Chelsea, particularly at the start of his tenure when there has, and will continue to be, so much change on and off the pitch.
He’s confident he can ‘produce a top team’ at Stamford Bridge, but it will take time and won’t be an overnight fix.
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The Chelsea boss concluded: "It's been a tough period. Lots of things happening, change, new faces everywhere, trying to get it all to gel, and a new playing style.
“We've a lot of work to do. That's why we came here, to produce a top team. There's a long way to go, but it's exciting."
Chelsea could be without Jorginho on Wednesday after he picked up a minor foot problem. Kepa Arrizabalaga remains out, but youngsters Omari Hutchinson and Lewis Hall will both be in the squad.
“(Hutchinson's) in the squad, Lewis Hall is in the squad. They've impressed. We've got some good quality young players. They'll be in the squad and involved."
Topics: Chelsea, Graham Potter, Pep Guardiola, Manchester City, Football
Matthew Debono