Graham Potter has worst start as Chelsea manager for 30 YEARS after goal-shy Blues slumped to defeat to Man City

GRAHAM POTTER has endured the worst Premier League start of any Chelsea boss in the last 30 years.

The former Brighton manager – who is preparing his side to take on Man City in the FA Cup today – has had a difficult introduction to life in the Stamford Bridge hotseat.

Potter, 47, inherited a squad in flux from predecessor Thomas Tuchel, who had also endured an underwhelming start to the campaign.

Chelsea have not been the recipients of a new manager bounce, however, and find themselves slipping away from the top four at an alarming rate.

The West Londoners are TENTH in the Premier League table – ten points behind the Champions League places.

Potter was handed a five-year contract by new owner Todd Boehly in September – with the American having identified the Englishman as his man.

But he will have a big job in rejuvenating his team and keeping everyone onside.

He won his first three Premier League games in charge – overseeing triumphs over Crystal Palace, Wolves and Aston Villa.

Things have been trickier since, with the Blues on a dismal run of just one win in their eight in the league.

This horror form has seen them lose to Brighton, Newcastle, Arsenal and most recently Manchester City.

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Only Ian Porterfield and Glenn Hoddle have had worse starts to life as Chelsea boss in the Premier League era.

Late Scot Porterfield was sacked in 1993, being replaced by Tottenham legend Hoddle – who left to become England manager three years later.

Both began life in the Premier League with records of three wins, four draws and four defeats through their first 11 games.

Potter, meanwhile, has managed an only slightly better four wins, three draws and four defeats.

This means that ALL of Roman Abramovich’s managerial appointments started better than Boehly’s first.

Guus Hiddink had the best start, winning nine drawing one and losing just one of his first 11 Premier League games.

While Carlo Ancelotti also won nine of his first 11 on the way to winning the title in the 2009-10 season.

Maurizio Sarri, Luiz Felipe Scolari, Jose Mourinho and Antonio Conte all managed eight wins from 11.

While Avram Grant, Andre Villas-Boas and Frank Lampard earned seven apiece.

Rafael Benitez and Thomas Tuchel each managed six wins, with the latter grabbing four draws and the former getting three.

Ruud Gullit, Roberto Di Matteo, Claudio Ranieri and the late Gianluca Vialli earned five wins apiece in their opening 11 in the Prem.

David Webb, like Potter, earned four wins, but also four draws – meaning he earned a point more over the time period than Chelsea’s current boss.

Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk