JOHN OBI MIKEL burst out laughing as he considered how long Graham Potter would have lasted as Chelsea manager under Roman Abramovich.
The former Brighton boss was axed by the Blues after just six months in the Stamford Bridge hotseat.
Potter, 47, had been handed a five-year contract by Chelsea co-owner Todd Boehly, only for the American to sack him during his first season.
Despite the brief nature of Potter’s Blues stint, ex-Chelsea star John Obi Mikel reckons he’d have lasted even less time under previous owner Roman Abramovich.
Fourteen managers worked at Chelsea during the Russian’s 19-year reign – with Abramovich having axed the likes of Carlo Ancelotti, Antonio Conte and Jose Mourinho, twice.
Mikel, who played for Chelsea for 11 years during the Abramovich era, told Dubai Eye radio station: “When you look at that, was he given enough time? I think so.
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“I think where you look at where the club is now, what is it, 11th in the table?
“So when you look at it, I think he’s been given enough time. If it was the Roman Abramovich era…”
At this point Mikel, 35, couldn’t help but laugh, before adding: “So was he given enough time? I think the club made the right decision.”
The Nigerian, who helped Chelsea win their first Champions League in 2012, went on to suggest that the job had been “too big” for Potter.
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He continued: “Was the club too big for him to manage? Maybe. Because when I look at him sometimes on the touchline he doesn’t really know what to do.
“He’s not communicating to the players, he doesn’t tell them what to do on the pitch.”
Mikel, who retired from football last September, then offered some advice to his former team-mate Frank Lampard, after the ex-midfielder was handed the caretaker job until the end of the season.
He said: “When they scream at you, they are telling you what to do. Sometimes players need a kick up the backside, to wake up. With Graham, I wasn’t seeing that.
“Also with Frank, I wasn’t seeing that. I hope now he’s back, he will be more of a [Jurgen] Klopp or Pep [Guardiola], we see these managers who are always emotional, it’s like they want to be on the pitch. I want to see that with Frank when he comes back.”
Potter won just 12 of his 31 matches in charge of Chelsea – drawing eight and losing 11.
Lampard’s return as boss got off to a nightmare start on Saturday, as his side were beaten 1-0 by Wolves at Molineux.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
