By Babalola Seyi
Graham Potter, the manager of Chelsea, has said that defender Marc Cucurella has been made a scapegoat for the team’s issues this season.
Cucurella, according to Potter, is being unfairly punished for Chelsea’s poor season.
Cucurella joined Chelsea from Brighton in the summer transfer window, but he has struggled to reproduce his excellent form from last season at Stamford Bridge.
Cucurella suffered criticisms in Chelsea’s recent matches against West Ham United and Borussia Dortmund.
“The results that we’re having, where we are in the table, unfortunately, somebody will be getting the brunt of the criticism,” Potter told a press conference ahead of Chelsea’s Premier League tie with Southampton on Saturday.
“That is the pattern. And whether it is fair or not, it doesn’t matter.
“As professionals, we have to accept that and work as hard as we can to change opinion. That is what it is, that is the challenge for us. I’m not going to argue against it. Marc [Cucurella] is a big boy, he’s an adult, has kids, he knows the situation. We have to help him change his perspective on this.
“There is always frustration and we’ve to accept the frustration with me, frustration at players, it is part of what we have to accept in this position.
“There is no magic formula. It is not easy to play with that type of pressure. All he can do is keep doing well in training, keep working hard, and wait for the right opportunity.
“We aren’t losing because of one individual, one person. We are a team and we need to stick together.”
