Kai Havertz has dismissed suggestions that Graham Potter is not a suitable fit for the position of Chelsea head coach.
Despite a promising start to life at Stamford Bridge, Potter recently put together a run of three wins from 17 matches in all competitions, leading to a constant dissection of his capabilities to be the lead man at the English giants.
The Englishman was allegedly under pressure to retain his job ahead of a crucial double-header with Leeds United and Borussia Dortmund in the space of three days.
However, after edging out Leeds in the Premier League, Chelsea delivered the high point of their campaign on Tuesday night as they overturned a 1-0 aggregate deficit to the in-form team in Europe to reach the Champions League quarter-finals.
Havertz netted the decisive goal in the tie, the Germany international keeping his nerve to score a retaken penalty on the back of a run of just one strike in 12 appearances.
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Although the forward has endured a poor run of form, he has been constantly backed by Potter at a time when he could have deployed Joao Felix, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang or David Datro Fofana down the middle of his attack.
Based on Havertz's contribution on Tuesday night, Potter will now feel vindicated by his decision, and the player took the opportunity to back his head coach after the match.
Speaking in an interview with beIN SPORTS, Havertz said: "We know that the pressure is coming at him. You can see that he's a big manager. In the media I can't believe how many people have to talk [about] him."
"We have hundreds of coaches in England you know, that think they know better than him! We know in the changing room that he has a big personality and a big manager for us.
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"He helps us all a lot, me included, so we are 100% behind him. Even though the people don't see it, today everyone saw that he's a big manager."
With Chelsea winning back-to-back matches for the first time since the middle of October, the pressure remains on Potter ahead of their next batch of games.
Nevertheless, there will be less scrutiny on the former Brighton & Hove Albion man ahead of Premier League fixtures with Leicester City and Everton before the international break.
Chelsea are not due to return to Champions League action until either April 11 or April 12.
Darren Plant
